Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day
by Solo Ensemble
Summary: Horribly AU. At times, just horrible. Elizabeth Drake clashes with her sister Carly's business associate. Written for a banner challenge.
1. Chapter 1

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**A/N: **Horribly AU. And in some parts…just plain horrible. But whatever.

**Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day  
Overcrowded Room **

**--Chapter One--**

**.:ELQ:.**

The click of Caroline Benson's crimson bejeweled Manolo-Blahniks on the polished hardwood of the ELQ lobby was unmistakable, and the secretary looked up immediately at the sound. Smiling at the regular, she pointed unnecessarily to the reserved elevator and resumed her work as the young woman went about her business as usual.

The blonde scrolled through her missed calls on her crimson Razr, frowning when she realized that not one of them had been from her little stepsister. The girl was as free-spirited as they came, and she probably wouldn't even own a telephone if she didn't need it to always order new barware that the regulars at her dive kept breaking in their weekly brawls.

Carly let out a sigh and flipped her phone shut when the elevator announced her floor, and stepped off with as much grace and authority as if she owned the corporation. Dressed in a chocolate brown business suit over a prim white oxford that she left unbuttoned at the top with her crimson leather Coach bag and matching Manolos, she was the picture of wealth and the entrepreneurial spirit. But that didn't mean she actually liked these bi-monthly board meetings.

Her pout stretched and curled into a bright smile when she spotted her friend Nikolas Cassidine flirting with the secretary, and she waved as she walked over. "Hey, Nikolas – you actually beat me today."

"Carly," he grinned back, tipping his head at his fellow trustee. "What can I say? I was visiting Lila today, and Old Man Quartermaine dragged me here himself. How's your house-hunting going?"

"All right," she allowed, signaling the young intern to fetch her the normal espresso that only barely managed to get her through one of these meetings. "I'm trying to find a place that Elle likes, too, and that's…harder than I thought."

"Elle agreed to live with you?" Nikolas inquired, quirking a brow at her. "Really?"

The blonde shrugged. "Well, not officially, but yeah. I just kept badgering her about it and telling her that since neither one of us wants to live with Noah and my mom by the lake, and since I just moved out of Jax's place, we need to find some place where we can stay together."

"I thought she liked living above her club, though."

"See, that's what she keeps saying," Carly sighed, brushing her bangs out of her face and gratefully accepting her coffee from the unpaid intern. "But the rooms are all so tiny and the carpets are worn out and dirty and it's so noisy from downstairs, and you don't even want to _hear_ about the bathrooms. I'm pretty much forcing her to move in with me."

"You two seen anything you liked?"

The woman shrugged. "Well, Elle's pretty much left the final decision up to me. She says that as long as we find someplace cozy with a lot of closet room, a big kitchen, and a fabulous bathroom, she's cool with it. I mean, I'm the one that's actually going to be living there full-time, so it works."

"Well, good luck," Nikolas chuckled, taking another sip of his sweetened black coffee. "Elle's about as stubborn and picky as they get."

"Oh, I'll find _some_ place that she loves," Carly assured him, narrowing her eyes. "Just leave that to me. So, anyway, how was your trip to Greece?"

"It went well, all things considered," the Prince replied. "I stayed indoors for the whole week, ironed out a messy territory squabble, and even managed to add a considerable amount of holdings to the Cassidine real estate portfolio."

"Impressive," Carly smiled, punching him in the arm. "Sounds like you had a good vacation."

Her friend laughed and leaned closer, his voice dropping to a more confiding tone. "Speaking of vacations…I got a very surprising phone call last night and…well, guess who just got back from an extended vay-cay?"

Carly's eyes widened and she peered around the massive area like a schoolgirl, unable to help herself. "Who?"

Nikolas tilted his head in the general direction of the mystery traveler, and the Prince's dark eyes twinkled when Carly's face instantly contorted in displeasure.

"Oh, you're _kidding_," she groaned, turning away from a tall man in an impeccable Italian suit engaged in serious conversation with Alan James Quartermaine, Jr. "Not _again_. Why couldn't he just have stayed in New York City instead of coming back here like a big Warren-Buffet-style hero and-"

"Oh, hi, Jason," Nikolas cut in, smiling at a point right over Carly's shoulder. His smile turned into a large grin when the blonde gasped and whirled around only to find that her competition was still all the way on the other side of the room.

"Not funny, Nikolas," she hissed, swatting his arm as she glanced over at the tall blonde once more. Jason looked up just then and Carly whirled around, quickly grabbing her old friend's arm and tugging him into the main boardroom on the heels of Alan and Monica Quartermaine. "Come on – before I have to actually _talk_ to him!"

**.:ELQ Lobby:.**

Carly and Nikolas were both laughing as they stumbled past the reception desk on their way to the elevator.

"Did you _see_ the look on Edward's face?" the blonde cackled, her hand resting in the crook of her friend's elbow. "I thought his head was going to explode when Jason sided with Junior and totally poked holes in his demand-pull inflation cop-out."

Nikolas, too, was grinning broadly as he punched the button to go down. "Serves the old goat right," he snickered, glancing over at his colleague. "He was the one that called Jason in New York City and practically offered him the world with a picket fence around it if he came back to ELQ. He thought he was getting a sycophant-"

"A lapdog," Carly clarified, chuckling as they waited for the busy elevator.

"-and it serves him right to see that Jason actually has a mind of his own."

"-Not to mention a _pair_ of his own," the blonde cracked, elbowing her friend in the gut and not noticing that they had company.

"Carly," came a smooth voice from behind her that caused the broad smile to drop off the woman's face. "Nikolas. What were you saying about my pair?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, forcing herself to contain a smile. "We were talking about your pants, Jason," she explained sweetly, batting her lashes at her long-time competition in the ELQ boardroom. "Your lovely pair of pants – and how lucky you were not to spill anything on them, unlike poor Nikolas here."

He nodded, making it clear that he didn't believe a word out of her mouth, and firmly shook Nikolas' hand. "I heard from Tracy that you just got back from Greece. How was it?"

"So-so," the Prince replied, moving aside to let his friend stand with them as they all waited for the elevator. "Worked the whole week, barely got any sleep or food. You know how it is."

Jason chuckled in agreement, ushering Carly forward when the elevator finally opened. He held the door with his hand as Nikolas boarded it, and finally stepped on himself. He had known the two of them for years, and had teamed up with them in the boardroom against Alan and Monica – and sometimes Edward – in the past. Nikolas was a very close friend of his inside the boardroom and out, but Carly was a different story.

He knew the woman well: her positive attributes as well as her not-so-positive ones. Caroline Benson was one of the sharpest minds on the board of Edward and Lila Quartermaine's company, and knew the workings of the corporation inside and out. She was ruthless when cornered, and had earned favor with Alan James, Jr. and Tracy Hornsby by fighting Edward tooth and nail when he tried to undermine her. She was the youngest person on the board, and a woman at that, and so Carly worked twice as hard as the rest of the members to prove that she was worth her salt.

Jason had to admit that he admired all of those characteristics in her, and very much so. She always spoke her mind…and that was when the two of them got into trouble sometimes. Carly was fairly emotional when it came to business; she often thought with her heart, not with her mind. He, on the other hand, was more deliberate and calculating when it came to entrepreneurial matters, and that was when they often clashed.

Still, the antagonism kept their uneasy friendship alive, and Jason knew that he wouldn't even entertain a modicum of enthusiasm for the ELQ bi-monthly meetings if Carly wasn't around for him to spar with. Sometimes, he liked to throw her by actually agreeing with her – nothing annoyed the woman quite as much as that. And after three years of working for an established corporation downstate, he had finally returned to take back the seat that his father and grandfather had once held on the board and passed on to him. Nepotism was alive and well at ELQ, and he couldn't have been more pleased.

"Okay, it's, like, a million degrees outside," Carly was muttering as she fumbled in her large handbag for her phone. "And after that meeting, I need a drink."

"Me, too," Nikolas agreed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they waited for the elevator door to open.

Carly was out like a shot as soon as they landed in the lobby, but Jason made sure to keep up. "I think I'll join you," he announced dryly, glancing at the woman out of the corner of his eye and feeling a slight twinge of pleasure when she deflated.

"Sounds good," the Prince agreed good-naturedly, oblivious to Carly's displeasure. "Hey, why not go to Elle's place? Jason, you've never been there, have you?"

"Elle?" he repeated, trying to place a face to the vaguely familiar name. "No. Who's Elle?"

"My stepsister," Carly replied breezily, scrolling through her unanswered text messages. "Elizabeth Drake – you remember her, right? She and her dad came to Port Charles a few weeks before you left."

"Elizabeth Drake," Jason repeated, still trying to envision the girl. "…No, I've never met her."

"She's about six years younger than us," Nikolas supplied helpfully, tipping his head at the secretary as they walked toward the north exit. "Five foot two at most, dark brown hair, big blue eyes. She's nice – you'll like her."

He frowned at his friend as the woman flipped her phone shut. "What? No Elle?"

"No Elle," she huffed, dumping the Razr back into her bag and crossing her arms over her chest as they stepped into the sunshine. "I don't know where that girl is – I've been trying to get a hold of her for the past four days and-"

"Carly!"

Jason snapped his head around at the sound of a woman's voice and looked around for the owner. He searched through the busy crowd of people that walked by, trying to find a young woman who might look like Carly's stepsister. She'd have the features that Nikolas had described, and would most likely be impeccably dressed like her sister and…

"Hey! Carly!"

"Elle! Elle!" The blonde let out an uncharacteristic squeal and raced across the sidewalk to the parking lot, throwing her arms around a petite brunette. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here!"

"I'm a surprise!" came the proud answer.

Carly tucked her hair behind her ears before latching onto the brunette's arms once more. "Where the hell have you been? I've been calling and calling-"

"I know, I know," the woman panted, brushing her wild hair out of her face as her sister's two companions approached. "I've been in Manhattan for the past few days and just got back right now – man, do I have news for you!"

"What were you doing in Manhattan?"

"Shopping, sketching, attending this awesome street festival, meeting with a gallery owner, kneeing a would-be mugger in the groin, eating my weight in cheesecake, being chased by three Rottweilers, arguing with the Filafel Man, getting slobbered on by a horse, stalking a man that looked exactly like Lorne Michaels for five city blocks, pretending to be a mannequin in a store window, being tossed out of said store, accidentally walking onto the set of the Spiderman movie-"

"Okay, okay," Carly interjected, rubbing her temples as Jason and Nikolas came to stand by her side. "I'm sorry I asked!"

The Prince snickered, watching Jason's brows crinkle as the petite brunette continued to ramble on about the gallery owner she'd managed to get in touch with in the city and how well they'd gotten along. The other man exchanged glances with him, quirking a brow, and Nikolas simply shrugged. Elle was an acquired taste, he seemed to be telling his friend.

Finally, the young woman finished up her long, winding tale and took a deep breath before energetically turning to her sister's friends. She immediately granted Nikolas one of her signature beaming grins, and blushed prettily when the dark-haired man heartily congratulated her on furthering her art and wished her best luck in the future. Still smiling, she turned to face Jason and immediately stuck out her hand.

"Hi," she grinned, shaking his large hand firmly. "I don't think we've met. I'm Elizabeth Drake, but everyone calls me Elle. And you are…?"

"Jason," he replied simply, withdrawing his hand and slipping it back into the pocket of his dark navy suit jacket. This girl wasn't anything like the one he had half-expected. She was tiny, just as Nikolas had said, with hair the darkest brown and illuminating blue eyes. The woman wore a pair of frayed stovepipe blue jeans with a gaping hole on the knee, paired with a tight olive green tank top under a white wife beater along with a medallion necklace and an armful of silver bangles. He nodded his head once, his eyes flickering down to her Indian-style bejeweled flip-flops. "Jason Morgan."

"Jason," she smiled happily, not bothering to tame her wild, curly hair as it fluttered openly in the breeze. "And what do you do?"

"I work with your sister."

She waited for him to expand on that, but he didn't. Instead, the man simply towered above her, looking down at her with a distant but curious gaze that reminded her of the way her dog would glance condescendingly at the mindless little chipmunks that pranced all over his backyard.

Pursing her lips into a small smile, she nodded and turned back to Nikolas and her sister, the far more agreeable ones. "So, anyway, Carly, I know I've been MIA for, like, a week, and I totally suck. So I thought I'd swing by and see if you wanted to get something to eat and just talk – I know this really cute little sushi place that just opened up and I thought you and I could check it out. Nik, you're welcome to come along." She cleared her throat and glanced up at the imposing man at her side. "You, too, Jason."

But the older man simply shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I can't. I should be going, anyway."

"I'm sorry, Elle, but I don't have time for lunch, either," Nikolas spoke up apologetically. "We were gonna head out for drinks just now, but I just remembered that I promised Grandmother I'd drop by the yacht today. I'll take a rain check, okay? It's been way too long since I've seen you."

The brunette offered her sister's close friend a bright smile and nodded. "Don't worry about it, Nik. Gramma Cass comes first. Swing by the club sometime, though, okay? I've got a bottle of single-malt with your name on it."

The Prince laughed, pleased, and Elizabeth turned toward his friend. With a small, strained smile, she tipped her head at Jason. "It was nice meeting you, Jason. I guess I'll see you around."

He didn't say anything in reply but only nodded, then offered a goodbye to Carly before turning and walking over to the reserved section of the parking lot with Nikolas in tow.

The brunette watched them go, her arms crossed over her chest. Carly quirked a brow at her, then elbowed her when her stepsister didn't notice.

"Charming, isn't he?"

"Oh, it's Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day in Jason Morgan Land," Elizabeth huffed, rolling her eyes as she whirled around and grabbed her sister's arm. "He looked like he'd rather step on me with his fancy calfskin shoes than look at me."

Carly laughed aloud, allowing herself to be pulled along to the restored Shelby that Grampa Drake had left to his only granddaughter. "Jason can take a while to get used to," she allowed, unlocking the passenger side door of the convertible while Elizabeth simply hopped over the driver's door.

"I bet you're just _thrilled_ that he's back," the brunette snickered, inserting her key into the ignition and smiling proudly as the Mustang purred to life. "How long has it been? Three years? Four?"

"Somewhere around there," her sister agreed. "I thought I finally got rid of him at ELQ, only…eh, not so much."

"Is he a real hardass in the boardroom?"

The blonde considered the question as her sister backed up and took off down the aisle. "Yes and no. Jason's brilliant when it comes to this stuff – he was working with a real big name in New York City. He's really stubborn when he knows that he's right, and it's almost impossible to get him to back down. But he always listens to everyone's counter-arguments _before_ he rips holes in them and moves on."

Elizabeth laughed, slipping her shades from the dash and putting them on. "He's a regular Prince Charming. And here I was, listening to you and thinking that he hadn't left of his own choice this last time but had been chased out with pitchforks and burning tar."

Carly laughed along. "Hey, it's true! I mean, I couldn't have been the only one plucking chickens, right? Man, but what can you do? He's back, and I just died a little inside."

The brunette grinned cheekily at her older sister, finding the arrogant businessman far more amusing now that she was no longer standing in such close proximity to him. "You know what? That's what we'll drink to: Welcome back, Jason Morgan. Goodbye, sanity."


	2. Chapter 2

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day  
Overcrowded Room **

**--Chapter Two--**

.:Outside Kelly's:.

"Call me if you need anything else," Jason directed into his cell phone. "I can have it faxed or delivered by special courier overnight. And let me know if we get another government account – I trained Stan the best I could, but he might still need some pointers. Okay. Thanks."

With that, he snapped his phone shut and slipped it back into his pocket. The past few days had been chaotic at best. He should have known when he first stepped into that boardroom only to be enveloped in one of Edward Quartermaine's signature bear-hugs that the next few weeks would be pure Hell. The old man had been badgering him forever to return to ELQ and take up his father's old seat once more, but his setup in New York had been so perfect that Jason hadn't been able to walk away.

Finally, the tide seemed to change. There were some uncomfortable rumors floating around at the firm in which he was one of the senior executives, and a little undercover sleuthing on his part had confirmed them. The firm had entered into dangerous waters by doing business with the wrong people and though it was only in the preliminary stages, Jason still didn't like it. At the same time, Edward Quartermaine had sent him yet another offer for a position at ELQ, and the salary and benefits finally seemed right. An additional nudge from Nikolas and his sister Chloe had sealed the deal, and Jason soon found himself graciously leaving his firm and making tracks back to his old hometown.

It was just as sleepy as he remembered it, but things were looking good. The ELQ board had been infused with some young blood – Carly, Nikolas, Junior, and now himself – and seemed to be the better for it, if Edward's grumbling was ignored. The youth scene had greatly improved, and Port Charles seemed to be bustling with adolescents and young adults once again.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked around the small courtyard. For the first time in almost a week, he'd actually be able to have his breakfast on time while reading the morning paper. Edward had paged him right after he had left the first ELQ meeting, which was why he had to turn down Carly's reluctant invitation to go out. The old man had then grilled and interrogated him about his issues with the company, and also added a sufficient layer of guilt to the package in an attempt to once again obtain Jason for his own team.

Jason had played along, nodding to whatever it was the old man warbled on about. Edward Quartermaine was all bluster, and he knew how to foil him easily enough. Still, the ordeal was time-consuming in itself, and Edward had immediately handed him several smaller accounts so that he could familiarize himself once more with the workings of the company. On top of that, his old firm was experiencing some difficulty in their transition without him, so he had been called on to troubleshoot and bail his replacement out of some potential trouble. He hoped to be able to wipe his hands of that corporation in the very near future.

But now, things were finally calming down a bit. He had set up Stanford with all of the appropriate files and connections, and the man would most likely be able to handle the remaining government accounts without much fuss. He had supervised the completion of the smaller accounts Edward had pawned off on him – they were mostly in their final stages, anyway – and the old man was satisfied.

Finally, he'd be able to get some rest and get back in touch with the people he had left behind in Port Charles. Nikolas was first on his list. The two of them had been very close friends and allies once, but had fallen out of touch when he left for New York City. The Prince was gracious enough not to take it to heart, and allowed Jason to settle comfortably back into place upon his return.

Carly, though troublesome, also merited his attention. She had been taking it easy during the past three years with him downstate. Now, she'd have to get back into top shape if she wanted to keep up, and he didn't intend to make it easy on her. He and Carly had always done their best work for the company when they were at odds personally but in agreement professionally. If he didn't know better, he'd have to call the abrasive but obnoxiously professional blonde one of his closest friends after Nikolas.

Her sister, also, had proved to be of interest. In all his work inside mega-corporations, filled to capacity with robotically functioning drones and peons, he had never once met someone like her. The woman talked a mile a minute, a characteristic he thought to be rather…troublesome, and it didn't seem as though she cared one bit what others thought of her. She couldn't – not if she was dressed like that in public. And from what Nikolas had said, she owned a bar in town and lived above it. Yes, Elizabeth Drake was certainly a far cry from her sister, and he would be lying through his teeth if he didn't admit to finding her just the slightest bit intriguing.

**.:Inside Kelly's:.**

Elizabeth slid the pastry dish open and pulled out a cinnamon bun, breaking off a piece and cramming it into her mouth before she even bothered to close the plastic device. She leaned back and licked the cinnamon icing off her finger, not bothering to turn when she heard the bell above the diner's front door chime, signaling the entrance of another patron. The spiked black leather belt that held up her black and white plaid knee-length skirt clinked against the edge of the counter as she slid down from stool and waited for her friend to finish up at the register and pour her a cup of coffee to go.

"So, anyway, I wasn't watching where I was going, and it turned out that he had already seen me tailing him for three blocks and had stopped," she was saying to Penny behind the counter as she took another bite out of the pastry. "And I totally smacked into him, right?"

The Taiwanese waitress was laughing as she emptied another roll of quarters into the cash machine. "Oh, jeez, Elle."

"And he's staring down at me like, what the fuck? So I kinda just look at him, tilt my head to the side and blurt out, did you know that you look _exactly_ like a very young and very Canadian Lorne Michaels?"

Her friend shook her head, grinning back. "Only you, girlie. What did he say? Did he even know who Lorne Michaels was?"

The brunette nodded emphatically as the waitress reached for a coffee cup, and she absently picked a thread off of her bright red _Rock The Arts_ t-shirt. "Yeah – it turned out he was a huge Saturday Night Live fan. In fact, he was a waiter at one of the restaurants down there, and it was his dream to be one of the writers for the show at 30 Rock."

"You're kidding. Was he any good?"

She nodded, gratefully accepting the steaming coffee and still yammering on as she took her time stirring five sugar packets into it. "Yeah. He bounced a couple jokes off of me, plus this one idea he has for a sketch. It's supposed to be a Sesame Street spoof, like a True Hollywood Story feature on Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch doing weed and ordering hookers, and Grover trying to slit his wrists and Elmo getting into a huge brawl with Jim Henson over salary and string issues – it was hilarious! I swear, I met the coolest people on the _planet_ in Manhattan."

"It's like you've got some sort of Weird Magnet," her friend agreed, smirking as she rung up her total. "All the freaks and geeks manage to find you, no matter where you go."

"Like recognizes like," Elizabeth agreed, scrounging around in her hemp purse for her wallet. "And did I tell you about the other guy I totally smacked into? He was this college kid that detached a bush from the roots up and taped it around himself, then sat on street corners and followed people around and scared the pants off of them. You know, like in the old cartoons, where Wile E. Coyote would hide behind a bush and try to sneak up on the Road Runner, and all you'd see was this bush with little feet and devilish eyes? It was totally like that and – damn it!"

"What's wrong?"

Elizabeth frowned and began to dump out the contents of her purse, not noticing that another patron had approached the counter to pay the breakfast bill. "I can't find it!"

"Can't find what? –Your wallet?"

"Yes," she huffed, taking out seven tubes of sparkly lipgloss, a container of hand sanitizer, eight charcoal pencils, a gum eraser, a Davy Jones sticker, and a single Gumby ankle sock. "It's got to be in here somewhere."

Penny waited patiently as the brunette continued to pull her various possessions out of her hemp purse – her cell phone, a fuzzy pencil head, a plush monkey keychain, a More Cowbell iron-on, a small hairbrush, and a Fraggle Rock compact along with a single Hello Kitty hair curler. "…Nothing?"

"Damn it," Elizabeth cursed again, stomping one of her bright red retro pumps on the floor. "I must have left it at L&B. Shoot! Penny, can I-"

"Add her total to mine," came a deep voice from behind her, and Elizabeth whirled around to see Jason "Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day" Morgan standing at the counter looking rather bored. He glanced over at her, took in her appearance and then met her gaze with a quick nod. "Elizabeth."

She opened her mouth then snapped it shut, looking up at him quizzically. "I- Jason, you don't have to do that. It's nice of you, but I can't-"

"It's not a big deal," he replied blandly, accepting his credit card and scrawling his name on the receipt Penny slid forward. Handing the pen back to the suspiciously silent waitress, he looked down at the mountain of odds and ends that Elizabeth had accumulated on the counter and then back up at her. "But I'm thinking that next time, a wallet might come in handy more than that Richard Nixon chew toy."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at the flippant remark as Jason slipped his own wallet back into the pocket of his dress pants – which she begrudgingly noticed fit him very well, by the way – and deigned to glance at her once more as he walked toward the door.

"I'll see you around."

With that, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the courtyard. Elizabeth was still staring at the closed door when Penny chuckled behind her, then looked down at the half-eaten sticky bun that she had just been tearing into so ravenously. Suddenly, she wasn't that hungry.

**.:Port Charles Hotel, Fourth floor, Room 431:.**

"Caaaaaarly!" Elizabeth Drake unceremoniously pounded on the door to her sister's temporary place of residence before turning the doorknob and stepping in. "Come on, let's go, I'm starv-Oh."

She snapped her mouth shut the instant she saw that her sister was not alone. "Um…hi."

Alan James Quartermaine, Jr. smiled warmly back at her. "Hello, Elle. I'm sorry; I didn't know Carly was expecting you, otherwise we wouldn't have dropped by."

The brunette's dark sapphire orbs were already connected with Jason Morgan's cerulean ones, and she forced herself to maintain a chipper tone. "No prob, AJ. I'm a bit early – for the first time this century."

The dark-haired man laughed, lifting his hand up to gesture to his friend. "Elle, have you two met? This is Jason Morgan, one of our board members at EL-"

"We've met," Elizabeth replied with a terse smile, her eyes still connected with Jason's. "Hello, Jason."

"Elizabeth," he nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets as Carly emerged from the kitchen.

"Okay, so here's the number of my favorite dealer," she was saying, flipping through her address book. "He'll take good care of you, Junior. Be sure to show me once you drive it out of the showroom, okay? Oh- Elle! Hey! You're early."

"Yeah," her sister grinned sheepishly. "We were just about to throw a party. Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa were gonna come."

"And Bigfoot?" Carly responded seriously, not noticing that Jason was looking at the two of them as if they'd lost their minds. "A party's not a party if Sasquatch isn't around."

"He had previous plans," her sister snipped, shrugging. "So you're stuck with me."

"Bummer," the blonde pretended to sigh, handing AJ a small slip of paper. "Okay, guys, we good to go?"

The men nodded as Elizabeth bit her lip uneasily. "You know, you don't have to rush them out the door. If you guys were discussing business, it's no big deal. I can wait."

"It wasn't anything, really, Elle," AJ dismissed, waving his hand. "The Old Man called an emergency meeting tomorrow morning and Jason and I dropped by unannounced to quickly go over battle plans."

"We're finished," Jason supplied, tilting his head to the side as he studied the petite brunette with affectedly distant fascination. Her outfits usually surprised him, but he could barely remove his eyes from her slight form this afternoon. Elizabeth Drake was dressed in a pair of straight-legged, slim-fitting black tuxedo pants atop dark green stilettos with a matching jacket. However, she wore no camisole underneath her delicate pinstripe blazer and left much creamy skin exposed to his gaze. She held a small green leather clutch in her hands and wore only a large amulet around her neck. Her hair, which would have looked better arranged in some professional twist, was pulled into a high ponytail that she had partially spiked backward, and her bangs hung low over her eyes.

"You don't have to go," he finished, clearing his throat and remembering to look at her eyes when he spoke lest he gave himself away. "We should be heading out, anyway."

Elizabeth nodded jerkily, looking at her sister who was absently picking lint off her designer blouse. "Okay, so you wanna head out now, Carly?"

"Where are you two headed?" AJ asked, scratching the stubble that was taking over his jaw. Normally clean-cut, the businessman had decided it was time to be daring and try for some 'scruff'.

"There's this really, really, _really_ amazing place that just opened up on Perry Boulevard," she gushed, her discomfort bleeding away. She had always liked AJ ever since Carly had introduced the two of them, and he was always asking her to clue him in to the 'hip' spots around the area, not that she minded at all.

"It's called East of the Orient and it's got a total Zen garden feel to it. It's an outdoorsy-greenhouse type place," she added, blowing her bangs out of her face, "so it's seasonal."

"Of course," AJ agreed immediately. "What kind of food do they serve?"

"They're kind of rocking two cuisines there," the brunette responded after thinking for a moment. "They've got the seafood and vegetarian deal from Far Asia – a mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese cooking – and they've also got a menu that's influenced more by Spanish style and tastes."

"So…tapas, paellas, that sort of thing?"

She nodded immediately. "Yeah, exactly. It's supposed to be really incredible, so Carly and I thought we'd check it out for lunch today and then, I don't know, maybe head back to my place for early drinks tonight."

"I was just at Jake's the other night," AJ informed her, his brown eyes twinkling as he altogether ignored Jason who looked on uneasily. "I asked around for you, but they said you went to Manhattan? Is that right?"

The brunette nodded. "Yup – and man, do I have stories for you. I also found a really hip men's designer boutique when I was down there – the most incredible suits you've ever seen, AJ – and I brought back their contact info in case you were interested."

"Sure," he shrugged, "I'm getting tired of my current look, anyway. So you'll be at Jake's tonight, then?"

Carly nodded. "Definitely. Tonight's gonna be _huge_ – Battle of the Bands always draws them in. And guess what? Elle's band is going to be playing, too!"

"I can't miss that, then," AJ grinned, winking at Elizabeth when she blushed and rolled her eyes. "I'll do my best to clear off my schedule and be there, okay? The last time I heard you guys was at the Nurse's Ball last year."

"They've improved since then," the blonde informed him seriously, "if that's even possible. Of course, I might be just a little biased."

"Just a little?" Elizabeth teased, elbowing her sister. "You've already got plans for us to tour with Bon Jovi."

"And don't forget – you have to introduce me to Keith Richards," Carly added, wagging her finger at the little brunette. "I mean, sure, he's old and just scrambled his brains by falling out of that coconut tree…but I'd still hit it."

Elizabeth and AJ burst out laughing as Jason rolled his eyes. "Seriously, though, Jason," the dark-haired man got out, looking at his friend. "You should come tonight, check it out. Elle runs a great little joint."

The brunette quirked a brow when the man at her side appeared less than interested. "I don't know," she feigned, deciding to have a little fun at his expense. "Jason probably wouldn't like it – it's not really your scene."

That got his attention, and the businessman turned to face her. "Not my scene?" he asked humorlessly, quirking a brow back at the young woman. "And what do you think my scene is, Elizabeth?"

She had no idea why he insisted on calling her Elizabeth and not Elle like everyone else did, but that was a battle for another time. Plastering on a sweet smile, she batted her lashes up at him. "Well, Jason, I'm just saying that you might not like Jake's because it caters to a slightly younger audience."

He frowned at her, wondering if she was calling him old and out of touch. "A younger audience? Do you deal in milkshakes and safety scissors, Elizabeth?"

Her dark blue eyes narrowed, but she refused to allow her demeanor to be anything but pleasant – coldly so. "Nope. I deal mainly with the college crowd. The main room at Jake's serves mainly as a lounge with overstuffed sofas and desks out the wazoo. There's a coffee bar along there with a mini bakery-kiosk arrangement."

"And then there's an entertainment room," AJ cut in, "with videogames and the like. That's what really draws them in."

"The last room is a bar and club setup," Carly finished. "She's got hostesses that serve drinks and a stage with pretty good acoustics, all things considered, and plenty of little tables and a great dance floor that she just had redone…last year? Was it last year?"

The brunette nodded. "Yup. So, you see, Jason, I have Jake's set up mostly for the younger crowd in Port Charles – and a couple of the neighboring suburbs. My targeted demographic is the 18 to 25 group, and that's where most of my actual customers fall. I just didn't think you like it. I mean, I don't really see you as the night-clubbing, GRE-cramming, Dance-Dance-Revolution-ing type."

"I'm not," he confirmed blandly. "To be honest, I don't really go to clubs. I didn't do any of that downstate, either. I generally find one place that I like and stay there."

"He also eats his dinner at six and cuts up Nerf balls that fly into his yard," Carly joked, trying to ease the hard lines that creased her little sister's face. Knowing Elizabeth, she had probably taken Jason's response as a personal slight against her club. "Okay, so, are we going or what? Ooh – lemme grab my purse from the kitchen. I'll be right out. Thanks for stopping by, Jason, Junior. We'll really get Edward's goat tomorrow."

AJ laughed and excused himself, easily slipping out into the hallway. Jason moved to follow him and tipped his head politely at Elizabeth, but was soon stopped by her voice.

"Jason. Wait – I have something for you."

He looked back, surprised, and wondered what on earth she could have for him though he certainly wasn't about to complain. He watched as she opened her clutch and easily located her wallet, and the next thing he knew, Elizabeth was shoving the forty-three dollars that comprised her monthly tab at Kelly's into his palm.

His eyes widened as he stared down at the rumpled bills. "Elizabeth, you don't have to-"

"I always repay my debts, Jason," she replied smoothly, slipping her wallet back into her purse and hoping that Carly would soon emerge from the kitchen so that she could make her escape. "Thank you for helping me out; I appreciate it."

Saying the words left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she tried not to grimace in front of him. "And by the way? That Richard Nixon squeaky toy once saved me from being torn to shreds by a junkyard Doberman. Never underestimate the lingering power of our nation's first impeached president."

She turned over her shoulder, not noticing the way Jason stared at her. "Carly, I'm in the hall. Hurry it up!" Jason had managed to slip back into his stoic mask by the time she turned to face him once more. "It was good to see you, Jason. Goodbye."

Carly came out just in time to see the last of the forced exchange, and her brows furrowed when her sister quickly stomped into the hall. Turning back to Jason, she noticed the bills that he slipped into his pocket. "What was that about? Did she just give you-"

"It's nothing," he dodged, looking surprisingly sheepish. Carly crossed her arms over her chest and Jason sighed, knowing he wouldn't be left alone until she got a full explanation. "I met her at Kelly's the other morning and she had misplaced her wallet. I told the waitress to add her total to mine."

The blonde quirked a brow, using Jason's own discomfort to her advantage. Her colleague surprised her by falling for it, and actually tugged on his earlobe. "…And I think I insulted her somehow."

She smirked despite herself and picked her purse up from the desk, making sure she had her keys. "You do have a talent for that, you know."

Taking his arm, she half-led, half-pulled him to the door before turning and locking it. "Look, I'm sure she appreciates what you did, and it was really nice of you. But Elle's a little…"

"Strange?"

"…_different_," she finished witheringly. "She's really stubborn and she hates talking about money, so that's why whatever just happened was probably awkward. She also takes things personally sometimes – harmless things. It's just how she is, you know?"

Carly tucked her hair behind her ears and looked up at her confused colleague. "Look, thanks for what you did for her – and yeah, that's actually _me_ saying that, not Elle – but I can't help but notice that whenever you're around her, you two end up snipping at each other."

Jason frowned instantly. "I'm not trying-"

"I just think that maybe it would be best if you two stayed clear of each other for a while," Carly interrupted. "Because my kid sister bruises easily, Jason, and I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I'm insanely protective of her. So let's just take it easy, okay?"

She looked down the hall, not noticing that Jason's jaw had practically dropped, and absently gripped his arm. "Okay, now, come on, hotshot – I've got to go get some grub and Old Man Quartermaine probably has some dry-cleaning for you to fetch."


	3. Chapter 3

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**  
Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day  
Overcrowded Room **

**--Chapter Three--**

**.:Jake's Bar:.**

"Brace yourself," Carly muttered, trotting over to the bar counter atop her sapphire Jimmy Choos and quickly leaning over it to speak to her sister. "You know how I told you not to worry, and that Jason Morgan would never set foot in Jake's?"

The brunette quirked a brow humorlessly, staring at her suddenly uneasy sister. "…Yeah?"

"Well, this is it," they heard Nikolas announce as he stepped into the main room of the dark bar with his hands outstretched. "Welcome to Elle's place – formally known as Jake's Bar."

Carly cringed when Elizabeth let out a groan. "Oh, man, _not_ possible! Damn it, Carly!"

"What the hell was I supposed to do?" she asked, throwing her hands in the air. "Junior and Nikolas both told him that they were coming here tonight, and practically dragged him along by the leash."

"Fine, fine," her sister muttered, rubbing her temples. "Okay…how do we get him out?"

"Out?" Carly repeated. "Oh, honey, he's not going anywhere."

Elizabeth let out a defeated sigh, standing on her toes and watching as Nikolas showed Jason around. "Figures that he'd come in a suit. Why does he always have to look like he stepped off the cover of GQ?"

"Careful," her sister smirked. "That sounded dangerously close to a compliment."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "You know what I _mean_, Carly. Why is he wearing a suit?"

"…Because Nikolas is wearing a suit, and Junior will be wearing a suit, and I'm wearing a dress," Carly suggested. "He probably didn't know that he could show up in jeans and not be tossed out."

Elizabeth laughed at that. "Damn – so you mean I'm going to have to work harder to find an excuse to toss him, right? Shoot, where's Luke when you need him?"

The blonde smirked at the mention of her uncle and the father of Elizabeth's best friend. "You never know – Luke might end up deciding that he loves Jason, and then where would you be?"

"The looney bin," Elizabeth muttered, tucking her bangs behind her ears and knowing that they'd only slip back in front of her eyes two minutes later. "Okay, fine, if he's here, then he's here. There's nothing I can do about it, so why even pay attention to him?"

"Exactly," Carly nodded, encouraging her sister's resolute and upbeat attitude. "Let Nikolas worry about him – you just focus on your customers and your band."

"Oh, crap," Elizabeth hissed, smacking her hand to her forehead. "I forgot! Carly, I can't play in front of him!"

"Why not?"

She glared at her sister, wondering not for the first time if there was actually some truth to all the blonde jokes. "Because I'll be on stage, trying to psyche myself up to play, and then I'll look over there and see…see…_that_, and he'll give me a look that would probably make the flesh melt off my face, and then I'll be onstage with my guitar but no face and everyone will be like, hey, this place must not have any standards if they let lame Exorcist-style gags slide here and-"

"Breathe," Carly cut in, clamping a hand over her sister's mouth.

"I can't," came the muffled reply.

"Through your nose," she clarified, keeping her hand firmly in place. "And just listen to me. Since when do you care what people think about you? Let Jason sit there and swirl his wine or whatever the hell he does when he's around normal people, and just do your thing. Don't even look at him – leave that unfortunate task to me and Nikolas. Okay? Feel better?"

"I would if you took your hand off my mouth," Elizabeth mumbled against her sister's fingers, taking a deep breath when the blonde obliged. "Okay, okay, I won't look at him. This will be fine."

"This will be fine," Carly repeated, reaching for her hand and giving it a tug. "Now lemme see what you're wearing."

The brunette took off the apron she normally wore behind the counter and hopped out before her sister, twirling once as Nikolas continued to show Jason around while the rest of the crowd steadily filtered in.

"Ooh, I like," Carly grinned, looking her stepsister up and down. Elizabeth was wearing a bright red shirtdress with entirely straight lines that didn't do much for her figure. However, the stiff dress had tiny little sleeves that showed off her ballerina arms and it ended high on her thigh, flashing quite a bit of leg. She wore piano socks that she had pulled up a few inches over her ankle and a pair of bright red retro pumps – her favorites – finished off the look. Her hair was down and open, cascading past her shoulders in an hourglass wave, and her side swept bangs just barely touched down on her dark brows. An armful of black string bangles completed the ensemble, and her make up was very simple since she had only painted her lips a dark red and done her eyes up to be dark and smoky.

"Very cute," she nodded proudly. "I call it…punk rock chic."

Elizabeth grinned at the compliment but the smile soon dropped off her face when Nikolas led Jason over to them.

"Hey, Elle," he smiled, moving aside so that the first band could begin setting up on stage. "Told you I'd drop by. You still got that single-malt with my name on it?"

"Yup," she nodded, her dark eyes already lifting to meet Jason's. "Jason. Hello." He only tipped his head in reply and Elizabeth played with a lock of her hair, tilting her head slightly. "I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight. I thought you said this wasn't your scene."

"No," he responded casually, not bothering to look at Carly who glared at him in warning. "I think _you_ decided that, Elizabeth."

His crooked grin caught her off-guard, but Elizabeth didn't allow herself to stop long enough to wonder if he was flirting with her or just being a jackass. "Well, this is it," she smiled forcefully, gesturing around the now congested club. "Grab a table, sit, have some drinks. Junior and Lucky are supposed to be dropping by, so keep an eye out, will you, Carly?"

Her sister nodded and Elizabeth turned to the gentlemen. "I have to go introduce the bands, so I'll catch up with you later."

Jason watched as she walked away stiffly, pausing whenever she met someone she recognized. From the looks of it, she knew every single person in the entire damn room. Still, her social butterfly ways gave him ample time to admire her backside in that teasing dress, but before he knew it the lights were being dimmed and Carly was pushing him toward a table.

Elizabeth stepped onto the stage, which Jason considered a small triumph given those shoes that she was wearing. The petite brunette approached the microphone amidst cheers and hoots from her patrons, and flipped her wild hair over her narrow shoulders.

Jason watched as she welcomed the crowd with a bright grin, joking around with them as she got them all warmed up for the ensuing "Battle of the Bands". From the sounds of it, she had invited all the garage bands within a twenty-mile radius and told them that they could blow the roof off of her little club. She introduced the first band and stepped down, quickly making her way over to her floor manager and quietly exchanging a few words with him as the band started off.

He expected her to find her way to their table, but once Elizabeth finished giving instructions to her floor manager, she grabbed a few hostesses and did the same. And then the bouncers waved her over to address a certain problem, and she was busy with that.

Jason winced at the music, which had to be an unholy cross between punk rock and extra loud. Elizabeth remained busy through their first set, so Carly was the one that quickly ran up and exuberantly introduced the next band. His friend appeared to take over the job as her sister remained busy with her staff and guests.

About half an hour later, Jason looked around the club and found that Elizabeth had disappeared. He glanced over at Nikolas, who was enjoying his single-malt while everyone else drank beer and fruity mixes, and then heard Carly's voice from the stage.

"And now, give it up for your favorite punk rock chicks and mine, the girls of _Sweet Revenge_! Woot!"

He winced at her high, piercing register but soon forgot his discomfort when the spotlight focused on stage. That was when he saw her – Elizabeth, holding a dark blue electric guitar and standing right in the center of the stage. A tall blonde that he recognized to be Lulu Spencer, Lucky's twin sister, stood next to her holding the bass while another girl handled the keyboard and yet another sat behind a silver drum set with a black lip print painted on right above the band's name.

"That's Lainey, the one on keyboard," Nikolas pointed out. "She's a psych major at PCU, works part-time at General Hospital. The one on the drums is Kelly Lee, one of the new managers at L&B. And you remember Lucky's sister, Lulu."

Jason nodded, his eyes still glued on Elizabeth. She and Lulu were exchanging sly glances as the song began, and soon Kelly picked up on the drums. Nikolas was saying something else, but Jason couldn't make it out. In fact, he couldn't even make out the song that Elizabeth and her friends were currently playing. All he could see was the petite brunette standing on stage, dressed in that alarmingly charming shirt dress, moving her hand up and down the shaft of her electric guitar.

He leaned back in his seat, finally snapping out of it when a hostess set a cold beer down in front of him, along with a glass. Jason didn't even bother waiting for her to serve him; instead, he simply cracked open the bottle and took a long pull as Carly shot him a quizzical look.

On stage, Elizabeth sang along with Lulu as Kelly slammed away on her drums, doing her best not to look at Jason. Carly was whooping and singing along with the rest of her friends, and for that Elizabeth was grateful. Her stepsister always brought a certain elevated sense of enthusiasm to Jake's on the rare occasions when she allowed herself to let loose. She had been more prone to doing that since her breakup with fellow businessman Jasper Jacks of Jacks and Sons, Ltd.

Elizabeth suspected that it was because Carly had been involved in that serious relationship for such a long time that now that she was free, she didn't want to act like a heartbroken schoolgirl. Instead, she wanted to get out and have some fun. Not to say that Carly was heartbroken over the breakup; she and Jax remained good friends, but they had simply fallen out of love over a long period of time.

And it looked like Carly was having a good time tonight. She enjoyed her little gig as the master of ceremony, and it appeared that the only downer for her was having to sit next to Jason Morgan.

Finally braving a glance in his direction, Elizabeth was surprised to see that Jason didn't look as if he'd rather be having his prostate examined instead of being here. He looked a little uncomfortable in his casual suit, and seemed to have realized that her little club wasn't a very formal spot.

She hit the chorus with Lulu, easing up on the guitar as Kelly took over with her loud, insistent drum solo. Soon enough, she and Lulu were joining back in with renewed fervor as the song took a more fevered pitch. Elizabeth glanced over in time to see Jason wince and then slide off his seat, attempting to squeeze his way through the crowd to the back door of the building.

He didn't return until they had finished their set. Elizabeth barely glanced up when he slipped back into the room and instead handed her guitar to Lulu as the crowd broke for intermission. During the song, one of her floor managers had signaled to her and the brunette quickly ducked off stage to see what the problem was. She remained busy with him until intermission was almost over, and then headed toward Carly's table.

Her best friend Lucky Spencer had already arrived and was seated between his cousin Carly and Jason. The young man looked up with a grin as she approached, shooting out of his seat and over to her side where he dealt her the customary blow to the shoulder.

"Great job, Elle," he beamed as she rubbed her sore arm. "I _told_ you that the chorus was fine and you had nothing to worry about."

"You guys sounded _fabulous_," Carly emphasized, leaning back in her seat. "And Kelly's solo was great."

"She practiced really hard to get it right," Elizabeth nodded, grabbing Lucky's hand. "Hey, come with me, I have to show you something. We'll catch up with you guys in a minute, okay?"

Lucky followed his best friend over to the back of the room where she pulled him behind the dark bar counter. "What are we looking for?"

"You see that guy?" she pointed discreetly. "The one with the ponytail and the scruff?"

"Yeah."

She punched him in the arm, their favored way of punctuating their conversations. "He's from a record label!"

Lucky's eyes widened. "Woah – he's a scout?"

Elizabeth nodded emphatically. "Yup. He called me up and told me that he'd like to come, and he's looking for new talent. I told him to watch for _September_ and _Of Luxembourg_."

"Do the guys know they're being scouted?"

"I told them to make sure they give it their all tonight, because they never know who might be watching," she replied mischievously. "September was the second band up – I think they did great, don't you? I can't wait to see how the others do; they're coming up in about twenty minutes."

"Exciting," Lucky murmured, raking his gaze over the crowd. "Man, the place is packed tonight, Elle."

"Isn't it?" she asked excitedly. "I'm seeing people here tonight that I thought dropped off the face of the planet!"

"Yeah, like Sly over there," Lucky pointed out, gesturing to the Eckertt boy. "And there's Lydia What's-Her-Name-That-I-Can't-Pronounce-But-Sounds-Like-A-Tolstoy-Character."

"Ooh, and Ida!" Elizabeth added gleefully. "Man, I was wondering where the heck she disappeared to."

"And Junior just got here," her best friend informed her, pointing to their table. "He's just sitting down next to Nik. You know, come to think of it, I'm kinda surprised that Jason showed up."

She glanced at him curiously, wondering if he knew more about Mr. Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day than she did. "…Why?"

Lucky just shrugged. "This isn't really his type of place. He likes quiet, dark little hangouts without a lot of people."

"Like a rat," Elizabeth replied sourly.

Her best friend laughed. "Nah, he just likes to keep to himself, I guess. He's got pretty specific tastes when it comes to where he hangs out."

"Yeah, places where the Smoking Section is filled with the scent of charred thousand-dollar bills," the young woman replied dryly. "I wish he'd go find one of those right now."

"Ouch," Lucky muttered, jostling her with his shoulder. "That's probably the harshest thing I've ever heard you say about someone, Glenda."

She rolled her eyes, hating when he referred to her as the Good Witch from the land of Oz. "Let's just say that's he's not exactly my cup of joe. He's not even my cup of turpentine."

Her best friend laughed at that. "Damn, Elle, what did he do? Run over Noodle with his car, back up and then do it again?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No. He's just…he's so…it's like…ugh! I can't explain it! I just don't like him!"

"Well, clearly, you have very solid reasons for feeling that way," Lucky patronized, patting her hand and quickly stepping away when she tried to hit him. "Ow! Damn it, Elle."

"Go ahead, Lucky, take his side."

"Aren't we all of four years old," he mumbled, settling down next to her again. "Look, all I'm saying is that maybe you're just misunderstanding him."

"Technically, that's not a word, Mr. President."

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Why not just go out there and forget whatever he did that made you not like him? Why not just be nice to him? I'm sure he'll return it. Turn the other cheek, you know?"

She stared at him blandly. "Aphorisms? Your dad would be so ashamed, Lucky." He elbowed her roughly and Elizabeth rolled her eyes, acquiescing. "Fine, fine, I'll be my normal rainbows-and-butterflies self. Will that make you happy?"

"Sure, why not?" her friend responded, looping his arm around her waist and making his way back to their table. Carly and Nikolas were teasing Jason about something when the twosome approached. Lucky took the seat he had abandoned earlier while Elizabeth was left standing, which was fine with her because the next band was about to start playing. She quickly introduced them and by the time she got back to her table, she noticed that Kelly had already pulled Lucky away to dance.

Elizabeth grinned when Lainey passed her by, winking as she grabbed Nikolas' hand and pulled him up as well. The brunette turned and met Lucky's gaze on the dance floor, sighing when he glared at her.

Forcing herself to be positive, she turned back to the reticent businessman who was playing with his beer. She'd be nice to him, just like Lucky said. The poor man was sitting all alone at the table, since Carly had just run off to check her cell for the eightieth time, and his friends were all dancing. He probably didn't know very many people at the club, anyway. And that was what being a good hostess was all about – being nice to even the most unsavory patron.

"Jason, would you like to dance?"

He looked up, wide-eyed, at the sound of her sweet voice, then abruptly shook his head. "Oh – no, no thank you."

Carly approached just then, having heard the exchange, and quickly set her purse down on the table when she noticed the look in Elizabeth's eyes. "I would!" she announced gaily, holding her hands out to her stepsister and pulling her out onto the floor.

Elizabeth glared at the oblivious businessman but soon the music caught her and swept her away, and she and Carly danced alongside Lucky and Kelly while Jason remained sitting at their table. AJ returned, having met one of his acquaintances, and took the seat next to his colleague.

"See, this isn't so bad, right, Jason?" he asked over the music, taking a sip of his vodka. "…Jason?"

His friend instantly snapped around in his seat, slightly embarrassed at having been caught staring as Elizabeth and her sister as they danced together. But fortunately, AJ hadn't noticed in the dim lighting.

"I don't come here as often as I'd like," AJ continued, winking at a young woman that smiled at him from across the room. "But Elle runs a great place. She's really got a mind for this sort of thing. She's a great people-person, and the younger crowd just adores her."

Meanwhile, on the dance floor, Carly cast a fleeting look at her two colleagues. "Don't pay any attention to him, Elle," she instructed her sister over the loud music. "Don't even worry about it."

"Who's worrying?" Elizabeth feigned, trying not to glare in Jason's direction. "If he wants to sit by himself all night, it's his problem. I'm not going to spend one more second thinking about Jason Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day Morgan again."


	4. Chapter 4

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day  
Overcrowded Room **

**--Chapter Four--**

**.:Port Charles Park:.**

"Good game, Jason," Nikolas called out as he grabbed his duffel bag and his water bottle.

"You, too," Jason agreed, tossing him the basketball across the court and waiting as his friend stuffed it under his arm. "You wanna do this again tomorrow?"

"Can't," came the reply. "I have an appointment with my uncle. How about Thursday?"

"Sounds good," Jason called, already backing away from the court. "Give Stefan my best. I'll see you then."

"Later, Jason," Nikolas responded, waving as he turned and walked toward his parked car nearby.

Wiping the sweat out of his eyes, Jason turned around and headed toward the park entrance, thinking that he'd go to Kelly's for a quick bite and then return to his hotel room. He was glad that he had allowed Nikolas to guilt him into a game of basketball with some of their old friends; he didn't get the chance to do things like that very often.

He was walking along the main pathway, admiring the overgrown trees, when he heard a few shouts in the distance. Curious, he kept on walking in the same direction, following the pathway as it turned a corner.

He heard her voice before he even saw her.

"Get back here, you dumb noodleloaf!"

Just then, a gray rabbit shot past him on the grass, followed closely by a large black Labrador Retriever. The dog was in hard pursuit of the little animal, and that was when Jason instantly recognized the voice of its owner.

"If you come back, I'll let you eat kelp," she promised, still somewhere in the distance. "Remember? You _like_ kelp!"

Elizabeth appeared around the corner just then and the second her sapphire eyes connected with his, Jason took off running after the animal. The rabbit was zig-zagging like mad across the pathway, seeking a safe refuge from the overexcited dog, and Jason did his best to dodge other pedestrians and small, confused children as he ran.

Blinking at the strange sight before her, Elizabeth snapped herself out of it and ran after the older man and her buffoon of a dog, the leash swinging from her hand. "Noodle! Noodle, get back here!"

But her attempt to keep up with Jason's long, smooth gait as he ran was futile. Still, Elizabeth trotted after him, waving her leash as if poor, simple Noodle would suddenly remember that chasing rabbits in a public park and consequently mowing over small children was a no-no.

"Heel, boy! Stop! Roll over! Play dead – or do your Dukakis impression! Same thing! Damn it, Noodle!"

She blew her bangs out of her eyes, slowing to a halt when she saw that Jason had managed to grab her dumb dog by the collar. Noodle, however, wasn't about to let his cottontail prey off that easily; he strained against Jason's grip on the scruff of his neck, barking up a storm until it clicked in his oafish brain that something – or someone – was holding him back.

Elizabeth winced when her dog turned, half-leaping up onto Jason. The businessman, who had traded in those loathsome suits for a comfortable pair of track shorts and a wifebeater this morning, was powerless against the large dog. Noodle jumped up on him again, leaving two dark paw prints against his slim-fitting wifebeater, and succeeded in knocking Jason down.

The brunette rushed up just as her giant dog began slobbering all over poor Jason, yipping and barking with excitement. Huffing, she snapped the leash onto his collar and pulled him back as Jason managed to slip out from underneath.

"You dumb dog," Elizabeth muttered, pushing down on Noodle's rump in a vain attempt to get him to sit. "You were so tiny as a puppy – what the hell happened?"

Jason grunted, his back flat against the pavement, and hoisted himself up onto his elbows before sitting up. The movement caught Noodle's attention and the dog once again attempted to jump up onto Jason, licking his face and barking.

He heard Elizabeth yelling obscenities and something about kelp, and Jason managed to twist away slightly as he grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck, petting him roughly. The large animal seemed to enjoy that, and actually calmed down as Jason scratched his ears and rubbed his muzzle.

Elizabeth watched, nonplussed, then gave up trying to figure her dog out. "Sorry about that, Jason. And thank you for grabbing him."

"Not a problem," he answered, still playing with the oafish animal. "Who is this guy?"

"This is Noodle Amadeus Drake," Elizabeth replied proudly, playing with the dog's tail as it wagged furiously.

"All that name belongs to him?" Jason smirked, letting the animal lick his face.

The brunette chuckled, picking a stray dandelion fuzzie off his shiny black coat. "I was on a Mozart kick when I got him. I call him Noodle for every day, and Noodleloaf when he's being bad."

"What's a noodleloaf?"

She shrugged, mildly enjoying the bewildered look on his face. "Synonym for lunkhead?"

He seemed to accept the answer. "Oh." Roughly playing with Noodle's ears, Jason winced when the animal continued his loud, obnoxious barking jag.

"He reminds me of you." The corner of his mouth hitched upward when the brunette glared playfully at him. "Does he get away often?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Not really. I mean, _he_ usually takes _me_ for walks instead of the other way around, but I can handle him. He very rarely gets this worked up over rabbits, but squirrels are another story. He hates them – so do I. Damn kamikaze rodents."

He knew enough about Carly's little stepsister by now to know to leave that peculiar remark alone. "How long have you had him?"

"Oh, since he was a puppy," she replied, rubbing the dog's belly. "Our neighbor's dog in Philly had puppies and they couldn't keep them all, so my dad let me pick one. I picked this guy – but only because he tried to run up my dad's pant leg. I decided that was a mark of character."

Again, she had succeeded in confusing him with just a handful of words. Still, Jason just nodded and batted away one of Noodle's large paws when the Labrador took a playful swipe at him.

On the other side of the oafish dog, Elizabeth was watching her sister's friend carefully. This Jason – the one dressed in a pair of worn PCU track shorts and a pair of scuffed sneakers – was a far cry from the stiff, distant businessman in those damn Italian suits. It was true that he looked great in either ensemble, but she had to say that she preferred the demeanor that went along with the more casual outfit.

She was still caught up in her silent reverie when Jason hesitantly glanced up. "You run a really nice club," he blurted out, Noodle's head captured between his two large hands. "I meant to tell you that the other night, but…I couldn't catch you before we left."

A small, easy smile curled her lips and Elizabeth nodded bashfully. "Thanks. Yeah, I was kinda busy with this one scout that showed up for the Battle of the Bands. A couple of my regulars signed with a recording label that night."

His eyebrows rose at the unexpected information. "That's impressive."

"It is," she agreed emphatically, ignoring Noodle's hopeful eyes as he wiggled on his back, requesting a belly rub. "I've known the guys from _Of Luxembourg_ for about three years – ever since we moved to Port Charles – and they've been regulars at Jake's since I first bought it and fixed it up. They'd do gigs all the time if I was having a slow night, and they helped a lot when it came to getting the other bands around town to perform. I'm really glad that they got their big break – it was a long time coming."

Jason eyed her curiously as she prattled on. "What about your band? _Sweet Revenge_, right?"

She nodded. "What about us?"

"…Well, wouldn't you like to be signed to a label?"

Elizabeth surprised him by laughing. "God, no! Who the hell has the time these days?" She shook her head again, seeing that he wasn't following.

"Me, Lulu, Kelly, Lainey – we're not nearly devoted enough to make _Sweet Revenge_ the real deal. Lainey's got school, Kelly's got to help run L&B, Lulu's pretty much being groomed to take over _Luke's Bar_, and I've got Jake's and Carly to keep me busy. This is just what we do in our spare time, here and there. I don't think any one of us wants a real musical career."

"You all play very well, though," Jason responded, scratching Noodle's exposed throat. "I'm sorry I had to leave in the middle of your set – I didn't want to, but I was paged about an emergency at ELQ and-"

"ELQ, that's right," Elizabeth nodded. She couldn't fully explain it, but part of her felt much better about that evening knowing that Jason hadn't left of his own volition. Rattled slightly by that, she did the only thing she could think to do and changed the subject. "How's that going for you? Do you like it?"

Jason just shrugged. "I used to work there before – back when I lived here in Port Charles. It's pretty much the same…except now Edward Quartermaine's actually paying attention to me."

She quirked a brow at him. "You make that sound like a bad thing."

This time, it was his turn to surprise her. Jason leaned forward and quirked a brow back at her, still playing with Noodle. "Have you ever _met_ Edward Quartermaine? It's definitely a bad thing."

Her lips relaxed into an amused grin, and Elizabeth focused her attention on Noodle, uncomfortable with the new feeling that was coming over her – the feeling of actually _enjoying_ Mr. Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day's company. "Yeah, Carly doesn't like him, either. She and AJ are always plotting together about him – they even have a list going called Sixty-Three Ways To Give The Old Goat A Heart Attack."

"We're up to sixty-seven now, actually," Jason smirked back. "Edward's a problem, but as long as Junior, Tracy, Nikolas and your sister stay on at ELQ, the company will be fine."

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side, nibbling her lip and debating over whether or not to respond to that. Finally, her impulsive side won out, as always. "I'm sorry – I didn't think you liked Carly."

His cerulean orbs twinkled in the sunshine, and his serious baritone actually gave way to laughter when Noodle tried to jump on him again. "Don't tell her this, but I don't mind Carly at all. I do think she's abrasive and impulsive sometimes, but your sister is just what ELQ needs. If nothing else, she keeps Edward, Alan and Monica on their toes."

The brunette laughed along at that. "Yeah, she doesn't like them either. She calls them the Manson family."

Jason chuckled but said nothing to disagree. A long silence passed between the two of them as they focused on Noodle so they wouldn't have to deal with the faint awkwardness that began to settle in. The dog dealt with it for them when he soon spotted a squirrel and pulled away from Jason to stand at full attention, growling menacingly at the 'kamikaze rodent'.

Elizabeth flashed the businessman a small smile and pushed herself up, taking her dog's leash in her hand. Jason followed suit and stood as well, dusting off his shorts and shins. "Thanks again for stopping Noodle, Jason. I'd probably be chasing him through Amish Country by sunset if you hadn't gotten a hold of him. I'm sorry if we made you late for an appointment or something…"

He shook his head, roughly playing with the dog's head before letting him go and stepping back. "No, I had the day off today. Actually, I was just with Nikolas and Junior and a couple of the other guys, and was about to head over to Kelly's for some coffee or something."

The statement was phrased casually, but Jason watched the petite brunette like a hawk as he tried to catch even the subtlest reaction. But Elizabeth didn't pick up on any of that. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds like a plan. Hey – be sure to try their mint sweet tea. It's a new item on the menu, and it's _perfect_ for this heat wave right now."

Jason nodded slowly, idly playing with the lanyard that held his keys. "I think I will. I'll see you around, Elizabeth."

She held Noodle back when the oafish animal decided it would be a great idea to ditch his stuffy owner who wouldn't let him chase rabbits and instead follow his new friend, and stood still as Jason tipped his head and walked around her on his way to Kelly's. With a sigh, she jiggled her dog's leash and prodded him to walk forward, ignoring the lingering looks Noodle cast in the businessman's direction.

"Yeah, it sure turns out that way, doesn't it?"


	5. Chapter 5

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day  
Overcrowded Room **

**--Chapter Five--**

.:Port Charles Hotel, Fourth floor, Room 431:.

"I have decided," Elizabeth Drake announced, holding up a spoonful of ice cream to mark the declaration, "that of all the things Jason Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day Morgan can be, a bank robber is not one of them."

Carly Benson looked sideways at her stepsister as the two of them sat sprawled out on her couch, her own spoonful of ice cream paused midway on its trip to her mouth. "…And you figure this how?"

"Noodle likes him," the brunette shrugged, her eyes once again trained to the large television screen where Wesley was in the process of saving Buttercup from a large rodent.

The blonde turned away from the movie that had become a Sunday night ritual of theirs ever since their parents tied the knot two years and seven months ago. They barely even paid attention to the movie anymore since they knew the lines by heart – it was more like comforting background noise with a healthy dose of 'Wesley-hotness', as Elizabeth put it.

"And if Noodle likes him, he can't be a bank robber?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes impatiently at what seemed to her a painfully logical conclusion. "Well, _duh_. Remember that time that Noodle and I were running at the park and I wasn't watching where I was going and I smacked into that dude with the Minolta?"

"…Yeah…"

"I was saying sorry but Noodle kept growling at him, and I had one hell of a hard time pulling him down. Then the guy left and I got really mad at Noodle and I took away his toys for the rest of the afternoon-"

"Is there a point around here somewhere, Elle, or do I need to call Columbo?"

"And then two days later, that _same_ guy was on the news and he stuck up the Port Charles Bank on Maple Avenue! Remember that?"

Carly frowned, trying to remember the incident, and her eyes slowly widened as it all came back to her. "Oh, my God, you're _right_. I remember telling Nik about that and he didn't believe me. But you're right!"

"See?" Elizabeth exclaimed triumphantly. "That settles it – Jason Morgan isn't a bank robber."

"Phew," her stepsister sighed, cramming another heaping spoonful of Moose Tracks into her mouth. "Thank God _that's_ settled. Now I can sleep easy. Although…"

She glanced sideways at her sister just as Buttercup agreed to sacrifice herself for Wesley's safety. "…What's the sudden interest in Jason, Elle? He keeps Noodle from giving in to his Elmer Fudd tendencies, and all of a sudden you're actually looking at him like he's not a total tool. What gives?"

The brunette shrugged innocently. "Nothing," she replied, licking her spoon clean as Wesley watched Buttercup disappear through the forest. "I'm just glad he's not a bank robber, that's all."

**.:Quartermaine Manor, Drawing Room:.**

"The tea tastes different, Lila," Nikolas Cassidine mused, swirling the dark liquid around in his teacup. "A different blend today?"

"I switched back to white tea, dear," the old woman replied happily. "I do find that it suits my palate so much better these days. More honey, Jason?"

"No, thank you, Lila," he smiled politely, crossing his legs at the ankle. "I'm just fine."

"At least have a scone, darling," she coaxed, motioning for Edward to offer Jason the plate, which he did at once. "Cook's special recipe. I dare say, you won't find any like those except back home in Lancaster."

Jason obliged the Quartermaine matriarch by taking one of the proffered cookies and sitting back in his seat. It was a lazy summer afternoon and Lila Quartermaine had invited him and Nikolas to have tea with her and her family as she often did in the past before he left for New York. She had invited Jason's father before him, and his grandfather before him, and these afternoon tea dates were a favorite little ritual of hers. She'd sit happily in her wheelchair with only half a cup of tea, pushing scones and crumpets at the rest of her companions.

Edward sat contentedly in his own seat across from Jason with a cup of coffee balanced on the armrest of his chair and a cigar tucked into his pocket for later. Junior had disappeared into the house to receive an important phone call from one of his associates, Alan and Monica were occupied at the hospital, and Carly had declined the invitation due to a previous engagement, so at present it was only him and Nikolas with the two elderly Quartermaines.

Jason shifted in his seat, slightly uncomfortable in the custom-made suits he and Nikolas seemed to live in now. But Edward's cat-ate-the-canary smile from across the little table made him even more uncomfortable, and that was why Jason was exceedingly relieved when his old friend picked up the conversation once more.

"I saw Emily this morning with Raul," he informed Edward, referring to his youngest grandchild. "He's a fine looking horse, Edward. Any plans to race him?"

The old man shook his head. "No, but we are thinking about using him as a stud."

Nikolas was nodding in approval. "You'll get a lot of good colts and fillies from him, that's for sure. And Emily'll be happy to keep him at the stables."

"She will," Edward agreed. "She does so love that horse – and her mare, Lady. In fact, the girl would open up a menagerie if we let her."

"We probably _would_ let her, dear," Lila smiled confidingly at her husband.

Edward laughed, patting her hand. "Yes, I'm afraid we would. Tell me, Nikolas, Jason – do either of you have any experience with dogs?"

Jason blinked as Nikolas considered the question. "I used to have one in Greece when I was a kid but I left him behind with the help. Why do you ask, Edward?"

"Emily's got her heart set on getting a dog," the old man frowned. "I told her that we'd buy her a fine thoroughbred, but I'll be damned if she doesn't want to adopt from the pound. Imagine that – the pound!"

"I think that's very commendable of her," Nikolas disagreed. "Lots of those animals are strays that just need a good home and some attention. Does she know which breed she wants?"

"Labrador Retriever," came the answer.

"They're large dogs," Jason spoke up, not fully knowing why he did it. It was always best to remain out of Edward Quartermaine's radar, as far as he was concerned. Unnecessary attention from the old man was never a good thing. "Emily's small, and they can be a lot to handle."

Lila's brow furrowed. "How so, dear?"

"They're large, for one thing," the young man repeated. "They're strong, too, and very excitable. Just be careful that the dog doesn't take Emily for walks instead of the other way around."

Both husband and wife exchanged alarmed looks. "So you're saying that it's not a good idea?"

Nikolas watched, bemused, as Jason shook his head. "Not at all, Lila. Labrador Retrievers are very friendly animals. They're very good family dogs, and very affectionate. They make good companions, too. I'm sure Emily would be very happy with one of that breed…just as long as there aren't any rabbits or squirrels within a twenty-mile radius."

The last part was muttered under his breath, and Edward and Lila wore matching confused expressions when Nikolas burst out laughing. "So you've met Noodle, huh?"

Jason grinned at that. "How'd you know?"

"When that dog sees a squirrel, the whole town knows it," Nikolas smirked, his dark eyes glittering. "If ever an animal needed to come with a Mute button, Noodle is it. In fact…he reminds me a lot of his owner."

Edward watched suspiciously as Jason chuckled. "See, I thought the same thing – maybe I shouldn't have said it out loud, though."

Lila looked back and forth between the two young men as they laughed together. "Goodness, my dears, I'm afraid you have me at a loss. Who is this Noodle?"

"Noodle is the name of Elizabeth Drake's dog, Lila," Nikolas grinned back, his shoulders still shaking at the thought of the oafish creature. "You remember Elizabeth, don't you? She's Carly's stepsister, Noah Drake's daughter."

"Oh, yes," the old woman replied happily, her pale blue eyes twinkling. "She sat with me at the Christmas party last year at the hospital. Lovely girl, that Elizabeth. So unlike her sister."

Her eyebrows shot up when Nikolas and Jason exchanged glances and snickered, and Lila quickly amended her words. "Not to say that Caroline isn't lovely – she is quite lovely. But she and Elizabeth appear so…opposed at times, don't they? Not to say that-"

"Don't worry, Lila," Jason assured her kindly, smirking at his old friend. "We know what you mean."

"Well, _I_ don't," Edward huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't know the girl at all."

Jason remained silent, ticking his nails on the edge of his teacup as an oblivious Nikolas explained.

"Elizabeth and Carly are like polar opposites," he started. "You know Carly-"

"Unfortunately," the old man mumbled.

"She's punctual, she's very organized and orderly, she dresses very…professionally and she conducts herself with a certain sense of propriety," Nikolas continued as if Edward hadn't spoken. "Elizabeth, on the other hand-"

"Is she a degenerate?" Edward wanted to know. "A delinquent? Good heavens – a hippie?"

"No, no," the Prince hurriedly got out, holding up his hand. "She runs Jake's, the little club by the Elm Street pier-"

"Oh, that's the place Emily's always talking about," Lila beamed, pleased to be 'in the know' when it came to the young people. "She does so enjoy that little establishment. I had no idea Elizabeth ran it. How marvelous for her!"

"What kind of club is this?" the old man groused. "Does she know that Emily is underage? Oh, I'll have my friends in the DA's office look into this immediately-"

"Edward, it's a place for students," Nikolas interjected, and Jason could tell his friend was beginning to lose his patience. "It's got a little coffee bar and a large area with desks and computers for the kids to study, and it's got a lounge with video games for when they want to relax. Elle also invites area bands – bands comprised of her patrons, again – to play on certain nights. It's a good, _safe_ place for Port Charles' younger demographic to congregate."

Jason smirked to himself, content to sit out the rest of the evening in silence. Nikolas was a fool for getting in to this with Edward, but that was his problem. At least he hadn't mentioned that Elizabeth did indeed serve drinks at Jake's. That little bit of whitewashing would satisfy Edward until he forgot about the whole thing.

"Anyway, she runs Jake's and she's an artist herself," Nikolas continued, surprising Jason with that new information. "Some of her work was featured in that up and coming gallery in New York a year ago, and she's in talks with another gallery in Manhattan right now."

"How lovely," Lila smiled, looking out at her rose garden. "Oh, Edward, we should see the girl's work – I would so love a new painting for the house."

"We'll see to it, then, my dear," Edward assured his wife. "So she's an artist and runs this Jake's place, you say?"

Nikolas nodded, choosing to leave out the part about Elle being a musician as well – he knew that the artist bit was bad enough as far as Edward was concerned. "She's very free-spirited, not very punctual, and dresses like a typical college student," he continued. "Sometimes, I'm surprised at how close she and Carly are."

"It sounds like they balance the other out, dear," the Quartermaine matriarch observed. "And those are the best relationships, are they not?"

Jason smiled at that as Nikolas nodded. "So that's who we were just thinking of – Elizabeth and her dog Noodle. I'm surprised you haven't seen him tearing around the town – you probably have, but you might not have taken note of it."

It was his polite way of saying that they forgot; it was no secret that Lila's memory was going and that Edward's wouldn't be too far behind. But the Quartermaines didn't take any offense and simply nodded.

"So I take it, then, Jason, that this Elizabeth doesn't exercise much control over her dog?" Edward inquired, his eyes glittering under his bushy white eyebrows. Each word was weighed, measured, calculated, and Jason sat up straighter in his chair, knowing that he'd better answer carefully. "You've seen them together, then?"

"Just once," Jason replied blandly, inwardly hoping that the indifferent answer would be enough to deflect Edward's line of inquiry.

It would have been, too, had Nikolas not unknowingly trapped him back again. "When did you run into Elizabeth and Noodle, Jason?"

The businessman shifted uncomfortably. "On Tuesday."

"After our game?" Nikolas asked, thinking to himself. "Oh. She usually takes him to Lucky's around that time so he can play with Foster."

"They were walking through the park when I ran into them," Jason replied reluctantly, unconsciously tugging on his ear and giving himself away to an ever watchful Edward. "He saw a rabbit and took off after it and…I just chased him down and grabbed him."

"He's huge, isn't he?" the Prince chuckled, completely oblivious to the game being played at the little garden party. "Tough to handle. Especially since Elle's so tiny."

"But she really loves that thing," Jason pointed out, unable to help himself. "Anyone can see that."

"Thank you, dears, for the advice," Lila spoke up with a smile. "I do feel we're better prepared for when Emily introduces her final proposal regarding a new dog. I do believe she's working on a chart for us, Edward – imagine that!"

The old woman laughed to herself as her husband's eyes twinkled deviously. "I don't see why she can't have one, Edward. The house is big enough, and so is our property. If Emily wants a puppy, I say we let the little dear have one. We'll just have to make sure she understands the responsibilities. Thank you again, darlings – you've been most helpful."

Edward tented his fingers, his elbows balanced on the armrests, and smiled slyly. "Oh, yes – most helpful, indeed."


	6. Chapter 6

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day  
Overcrowded Room **

**--Chapter Six--**

**.:Jake's Bar:.**

"Welcome to the seventeenth century," Elizabeth grumbled to herself as the lights flickered in her little club before going out completely. "Population: me."

A storm had moved in through the area, and it was a bad one. The power was out all over the area, and fallen trees and roadside debris only added to the mess. It was a good thing that Jake's was closed for minor repairs, because the entire bar was plunged into darkness.

Fortunately, she wasn't a stranger to this sort of occurrence. Not being very punctual herself, there had been a couple of times when she had forgotten to pay her electricity bill and the power had been cut. And at any rate, the massive storm system afforded her the opportunity to check the roof for leaks.

She hummed to herself as she moved through the darkness, knowing the beaten path by heart and only colliding with a chair once, and only then because it was misplaced. Lightning illuminated the sky and she spotted a small puddle of water on the floor. Quickly, Elizabeth moved toward it with her handy bucket, adjusting its position until she heard the satisfying smack of water at the bottom.

"_It's raining, it's pouring_," she sang to herself, making sure the windows were locked and bolted. It would be a good time to go upstairs and check the tiny little offices she kept up there; with her luck, there would be a gaping hole in the ceiling or something.

"_The old man is snoring_." Her flip-flops made smacking sounds against the clean floor as she moved toward the main entrance on her way to the stairs, hearing a peculiar racket outside over the thunder but not stopping to pay it any mind.

_"He went to bed…"_

But as she neared the staircase, the noises grew louder. Someone was rapping on the door and trying the knob, attempting to get in. Elizabeth frowned to herself, wondering who would stop by this late at night when Jake's had been closed all weekend.

_"…and bumped his head…"_

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the main foyer and Elizabeth jumped back, knowing that whoever was trying to get in finally achieved that goal. She waited, hearing footsteps, and then took a deep breath. Since the lightning hadn't flashed for the past few minutes, she couldn't see a thing in the windowless entrance.

Slowly, she crept forward, sticking close to the wall as the intruder grunted and shuffled forward. Her small hands curled into fists and she waited, counting to three before making her move.

"Eliz-"

The brunette leapt into view before the sound of her name registered, her fists poised, and clocked the intruder a good one across the jaw. Her knee caught his stomach on the recoil and she cracked an arm over his back, sending him down for the count.

She was breathing hard, her arms still raised at the ready, and when the lightning flashed again Elizabeth saw a tall, broad shouldered man knocked down to the floor. She frowned, stepping back when he grunted and shook his head, still prostrate at her feet.

His hand lifted, the palm slicing downward to smack hard against the wooden floor. "God _damn_ it, Elizabeth! It's me!"

Her jaw dropped. "…_Jason_?"

The intruder huffed in response, still trying to clear his head and chase away the stars that clouded his vision. "What the hell did you hit me with?"

In a flash, she was on her knees beside him and helping him sit up. "My fists," the young woman responded meekly, biting her lip and hoping that the lightning would flash soon so that she could see how badly she hurt him.

He grunted in response and held a hand up to his jaw, wincing. Elizabeth cursed under her breath and eased closer, trying to get a good look as the room flooded with light for a few seconds before once again plunging into darkness.

"Here, lemme just get a look-"

Jason tried to swat her hands away, but the little brunette simply pinched his arm in reply – hard. Momentarily distracted, the businessman guarded his forearm, allowing her the opportunity to cradle his face with her soft hands. "What the hell was that for?"

"You were being a noodleloaf," she replied simply, scanning his face for injuries. She felt him pull away but held firm and before long, Jason sullenly acquiesced.

Her hands were cool and soft against his rough skin, and the young man soon found himself obliging her by turning his cheek the other way to allow her a better look.

"I think you're gonna have a shiner," she informed him with a sigh, her thumb skimming a tender path under his eyebrow. "Sorry about that."

He shook his head, his headache now down to a dull throb. "Where the hell did you learn to do that?"

Her shrug went unseen in the darkness. "AJ taught me how to fight when he found out that I was gonna open this place up and live above it. He said there were a few moves I needed to know…just in case."

"Just in case someone gets a phone call from your hysterical sister asking him to make sure you're still alive?" Jason groused, pushing himself up onto his heels. "Remind me to thank Junior."

She frowned at him – or what she perceived to be his outline, at any rate. "Well, how was I supposed to know that you were you instead of…of…an axe murderer or something?"

"An axe murderer wouldn't waste his time on you," Jason made the mistake of muttering. It was an innocuous remark; he simply meant that he didn't think many criminals would be willing to risk felony charges over a small club right on the side of a main road. Elizabeth, however, didn't take it as such.

"Oh – oh! Fine! You know what? Fine. I'm _glad_ I hit you – hopefully, I at least made some headway knocking your giant head out of your ass!"

Jason was up on his feet at the same minute she was, and his eyes were blazing when lightning once again lit up the main room. "Hey-"

"And what the hell did you think you were doing, anyway, Dudley Do Right? It's three fucking o'clock in the morning – the only people up now are the creeps and weirdos!"

"-And axe murderers," he retorted with no intention of being helpful.

She pursed her lips into a thin line, her alabaster skin glowing under the lightning. "I'm a grown woman and I can take care of myself! I don't need everyone and God checking up on me to make sure I haven't knocked my head on the counter and fallen over dead! I've been running this place for almost three years now and so far, the only thing that's happened is that I've been forced to stand around arguing with a baboon because I didn't spring for the more expensive locks!"

"Speaking of the locks," Jason spit back, not bothering to dignify the rest of what she had said, "you're right: they're the cheapest ones I've seen. A two year-old with a plastic screwdriver could break into this place!"

"At least that two year-old would be smart enough not to stomp in here and get his ass kicked!"

"Don't flatter yourself – you did _not_ kick my ass." He had absolutely no idea why he was standing around arguing with her like they were two children on a playground, but he just couldn't walk away. "You couldn't make a kitten flinch."

Elizabeth was positively seething. "Get back in that goddamn Rolls of yours and get lost, Morgan. The next time I need a knight in shining armor, I'll take an ad out in the Classifieds! You did nothing here but totally waste _my_ time and yours!"

"I'm beginning to see that," he growled, feeling the heat radiating off of her body. "I won't make the same mistake again."

"Good," she huffed, stomping her foot as he turned on his heel. "Glad to hear it."

The rain pelted him square in the face as soon as he shoved the door open, and Jason glanced over his shoulder at her. "Fine."

"Right back atcha!" Elizabeth snarled, waiting until he had slammed the door shut behind himself before she stomped upstairs to finish her work. Just when she thought Jason Morgan was an almost-okay sort of guy, he just had to revert right back to the arrogant jerk he was on the first big fat happy sunshine day that they met.

**.:Kelly's, Front Courtyard:.**

"Okay, so, technically, it was my fault," Carly sighed, following her sister up the cobbled walkway to Kelly's diner. "The power went out everywhere and I tried calling you a million times but couldn't get in touch with you. Then I went all glass-half-empty on my butt and imagined a million different ways for you to be lying dead in a ditch. I tried getting a hold of Nikolas and Junior but they weren't picking up and Jason was the only one that did so I asked him to check up on you and…are you mad?"

Elizabeth turned slowly on her heel and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No – not at you."

"Okay, good," Carly beamed, kicking up the heel of her new Marc Jacobs pumps. "You can be mad at Jason – that suits my agenda just fine."

"He's such a Neanderthal," her stepsister seethed, having needed only the slightest opportunity to vent. "I expected him to grab my hair and drag me around Jake's or something! And the way he went on about me not being safe there and – oh! Did I tell you what he said about the locks?"

"Only twenty times," the blonde replied, frowning slightly at the petite brunette. "Dude, Elle, chill for a minute. Yeah, Jason has the people skills of Boo Radley, but…he just wanted to make sure you were okay. He sounded a bit worried himself when I told him that you were tinkering around at Jake's all by yourself during a monsoon. Cut the guy some slack."

"Since when are _you_ his cheerleader?"

Her older sister gasped, holding a hand over her heart as Elizabeth tugged the door open. "Blasphemy! I've been maligned!"

The brunette rolled her eyes as she stepped into Kelly's, knowing at once that she had gone too far. "Okay, maybe 'cheerleader' wasn't the right word-"

"I will not tolerate this unacceptable behavior! There will be dire consequences! And-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it – dire consequences," Elizabeth laughed, tugging her stepsister along. "All I meant was, when did you start playing Devil's advocate?"

"Don't get me wrong," Carly started, setting her purse down on their customary table. "It's not like I want to marry him and have his babies. I know he can be arrogant and terse – boy, do I know – but he's not…he's never been…_malicious_. You know?"

"Not really."

"Oh, come on. You know him enough to know what I'm talking about." Carly flipped her hair over her shoulder as Elizabeth sat down and scooted her chair closer to her older sister and best friend.

"Jason's very focused and single-minded when it comes to something he wants. That's a good quality, actually. He doesn't let himself get sidetracked; not by things or people. Sometimes, that labels him as arrogant and I don't think he's entirely blameless there."

Their normal waitress waved at them, signaling that she was already on her way to get their order. It was always the same, anyway: two orders of eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, a little fruit cup to satisfy Noah and Bobbie, and a glass of milk.

"He comes off like he doesn't really care about anything, but that's only to people who haven't been around him very long. Jason _does_ care – he just has a hard time showing it. And he has a hard time talking to people – I mean, really talking to people."

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at the blonde, confused. "So you're saying he's just shy?"

Carly shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. I don't pretend to know all about him. I'm just saying that when I called him up and told him that you were fooling around at Jake's all by yourself – probably cleaning gutters or redoing the roof – and the power was knocked out, he sounded…I don't know, like he was actually worried. He said he was just heading back to the hotel but he'd drive over to Jake's first to see if you were stranded or if you wanted to come over to my place or something."

Elizabeth frowned slightly at her breakfast as the waitress placed it on the table, and Carly let out a sigh. "Look, I'm just saying that when he showed up, he didn't do it because he thinks you're some dim-witted little girl that has no clue about anything. He did it because I asked – because I wanted to know that you were okay. He didn't have to; I mean, he doesn't really know you that well, and hell, he doesn't even like me, but he did it anyway because he knew I was worried. Try to remember that – that he did it without actually having to."

"Yeah, I guess," the brunette sighed, playing with her fruit. "But then how do you explain all the crap he said?"

Her stepsister just quirked a brow at her, amused. "Elle, do you honestly expect me to believe that you didn't goad him? Not even a little?"

That got a cheeky grin out of her, and Elizabeth ducked her head as she picked up a piece of bacon. "…Maybe my normally sunny disposition cracked just a little…But Jason's still a jerk."

"No argument there," Carly shrugged. "I've definitely seen that side of him. But, damn, if he doesn't just run all hot and cold on us, huh?"

Elizabeth chuckled and was about to reply when the chimes above the front door rang out, and her sapphire eyes connected directly with the newest customer's cerulean ones. Jason stopped when he saw her and Carly sitting so close to the door and it looked to her as if he was almost about to walk over.

But quick as a flash, the mask of granite descended and the businessman looked away, quickly walking over to the counter and ordering a coffee to go. Elizabeth remained silent until he stepped out the back door, ignoring Carly's inquiring gaze.

She let out a sigh when she heard the chimes ring again, signaling his departure. "Oh, yeah."


	7. Chapter 7

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**--Chapter Seven--**

.:Luke's Bar:.

"Lucky! Luke! Where's a Spencer when you need one?"

Robert Scorpio grinned when he spotted his best friend's almost-daughter skipping down the steps into the main room of the slow little blues bar. "Most likely hiding," he quipped, tossing the young woman a wink.

Elizabeth laughed and dropped a hand familiarly on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze as she hopped up onto the stool next to him. "How's it going, Commish?"

"Not bad, love, not bad," the Commissioner replied with a nod. "And how's life treating you?"

"No complaints," she grinned back, tapping her nails on the counter.

"Aces," the older man exclaimed, pushing himself up onto the edge of the bar with his elbows. "Let me see if I can't get Luke out here. Luke! Luke, you old bogan, Elle's here looking for you!"

There was some clattering behind the wall, and then Lucky poked his head out. He grinned brightly, instantly spotting his best friend. "Hey, Elle, what's shaking? What do you need?"

"I hope it's something stiff to drink, darlin'," Luke spoke up, coming out from the other entrance. "Because that's about all I'm good for right now."

Elizabeth laughed and shook her head. "Actually, I was hoping that you guys could help me."

"A pretty little thing like you?" Luke braced his hands flat against the counter, smirking rakishly at the young woman he had practically adopted. "You name it and I'll get someone to do it."

Robert laughed at that, brandishing his half-full glass of scotch. "Ah, there's the famous Spencer work ethic for you."

"Infamous, you mean, Robbie," the brunette smirked, crossing her arms over the counter. Luke shook his head to himself, pouring out a glass of single malt as Lucky counted the patrons toward the back of the bar and grabbed a few beers.

"Guys," he called, holding up the bottles. "On the house – thanks for the help earlier with the frat boys."

Elizabeth glanced at Luke. "Frat boys? Oh, no, what happened?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Luke assured her as the customers in the back began to float toward the front to retrieve their beverages. "The usual crowd came in, got a little rowdy, started harassing Lulu and a couple of her playground pals, and these boys tossed them out on their asses because _someone_ was too busy listening to his Rastafarian music to be helpful."

The brunette shared a cheeky grin with Robert as the oldest Spencer turned around toward the back room. "And by the way? Claude? You're still fired!"

Lucky and Elizabeth laughed aloud as Luke's floor manager poked his head out of the back, nodded once, then disappeared again. The old man shook his head as he wiped down the counter. "Just you watch, darlin' – he'll be back tomorrow. He always comes back. Why does he always come back?"

"Your Stalinesque charm is just irresistible," Robert shrugged, his pale topaz eyes twinkling. "That's the only explanation."

"Clearly," Luke muttered with a dramatic sigh. "I'm telling you, Robert, it's a curse. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy…or even you."

The Commissioner rolled his eyes and took another sip of his drink. The patrons from the back arrived at the counter just then and Lucky passed them their drinks, tipping his head. Elizabeth moved aside to let a tall, broad-shouldered man with scruffy red hair take his and let out an embarrassed cluck when she accidentally elbowed another person in the stomach.

"Oh, I'm sorry-"

She snapped her mouth shut the minute her blue eyes connected with his, then inwardly cursed her luck. It just _figured_ that Jason Morgan would be here – although what Mr. Moneybags was doing at a dumpy little blues club on Baltic Avenue instead of his hotel on Park Place, she'd never know.

"Jason."

He tipped his head at her, that annoying little quirk of his that she knew was meant to be respectful but came off as rigid. "Elizabeth."

Luke quirked a brow at the two of them as he polished a glass and handed it to Lucky, who poured himself a shot of whiskey. "You two kids know each other?"

"Not really," Elizabeth replied flippantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she turned on her stool.

"Kind of," Jason answered at the same time, accepting his drink from Lucky.

Luke chuckled quietly and busied himself with rubbing down the counter once more. Robert began to chat with Elizabeth about her art work and her trips to the city, giving the oldest Spencer ample time to watch Jason as he casually hung around with a couple of his friends by the bar.

The first thing Luke noticed was that the younger man couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Even though he stood next to her, Jason kept glancing sideways in her direction. And with Elizabeth dressed the way she was, that wasn't surprising.

Jason took a pull of his drink, only half-listening to Johnny O'Brien as he talked about his plans to soup up his new car. As he was, he stood barely two inches away from Elizabeth and his arm would brush against hers occasionally as she shifted in her seat, unable to sit still.

The brunette's strappy stilettos clicked against the metal rung of the stool, shamelessly demanding his attention, and he obeyed. His gaze strayed upwards, following her dark pinstripe tuxedo pants that clung to her thighs and bottom before disappearing underneath the lower edge of a gray bustier that molded to her modest breasts. A fringe of white lace and a prim little pink ribbon were arranged at the top of the garment, and Elizabeth's neck and arms were bare of all jewelry. Her hair, wild and curly today, spilled around her creamy, narrow shoulders as she chattered away with the Commissioner and Luke, fidgeting every so often on her stool.

Finally, Robert excused himself to make a phone call and disappeared into Luke's office. The oldest Spencer went off to find out where his unemployed floor manager had disappeared to, and Lucky had vanished into the back room. Letting out an irritated huff, Elizabeth crossed her arms over the counter and glanced sideways out of the corner of her eyes. What she saw still made her frown.

Jason blinked when he heard her terse voice, this time directed at him. "Are you done pretending not to stare at me, Jason?"

The brunette's blue eyes narrowed dangerously when he only quirked a brow at her, the corner of his mouth twitching in a barely suppressed smirk. "Are you done pretending to ignore me, Elizabeth?"

Now at the far end of the counter, Luke let out an ill-disguised bark of laughter as he polished his tumblers.

Keeping one eye on the troublesome old man a few feet away, the brunette frowned at the arrogant businessman. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"I've been called worse."

She snorted, propping her chin up on one hand. "I'm sure."

Jason rolled his eyes, sliding his half-full bottle across the counter from one hand to the other. Elizabeth watched with mild indifference as he continued to play with it, then swung it up into his hand and took a long pull. The stool creaked when he shifted enough to balance one worn motorcycle boot on the rung, and the dark denim of his equally worn blue jeans stretched against his muscular thigh with the movement.

She frowned, annoyed with herself for noticing the little things about him – like how his black t-shirt clung to his back, or how long his fingers were, or that tiny bump on the ridge of his nose.

The tapping of her nails on the hard surface of the counter caught his attention, and Jason looked as if he might say something when one of his friends called out to him.

"Hey, Morgan – you in for another game?"

Elizabeth turned on her seat, her eyes coming to rest on a handsome Irishman with green eyes and a broad grin. She blinked, catching Jason's rare grin as he shook his head at his friend.

"O'Brien, you can't _afford_ to play another game against me."

The young man laughed, slipping his pool cue between his fingers and shrugging. "It's true."

Jason shook his head and turned on his stool as Johnny motioned for a dark-haired man named Max to rack up the balls for the next game. Elizabeth frowned, her eyes still on the two men that were apparently Jason's friends – although they didn't seem like businessmen or even as if they were particularly wealthy – before turning back to her sister's colleague.

"You come here often?"

There was more curiosity in her voice than derision, so Jason obliged the petite brunette with a shrug. "I guess."

"Funny," Elizabeth muttered, narrowing her eyes at her best friend as he clambered down the stairs to join the next pool game. "Lucky never mentioned it."

Jason turned slightly to face her, missing how the younger Spencer stuck his tongue out at the brunette. "I used to come here a lot before I left Port Charles – Luke's known me since I was a kid trying to sneak a beer. He used to put me to work behind the counter as punishment."

The information surprised her; neither Luke nor Lucky had ever mentioned being close with Mr. Moneybags Morgan in all the three years she had known them.

Jason watched as Elizabeth's dark brows furrowed. "Surprised?"

She shrugged uneasily. "…I didn't think this was your kind of place. I thought you'd like…"

"That I'd like what?"

The brunette pursed her lips, staring at the older man. "Someplace with a live orchestra playing Haydn where the cheapest thing on the wine list costs as much as Carly's entire collection of shoes."

That actually got a laugh at him – a deep, rusty, entirely masculine laugh that Elizabeth was ashamed to admit she found just the least bit pleasant. "God, no. Whenever I get dragged there, I spend the entire time trying to stop myself from turning my tie into a noose."

She grinned despite herself, chuckling at the remark. "I'd like to see the Goliath that could drag _you_ anywhere."

Jason rolled his eyes, shaking his head to himself as he took another drink from his bottle. "Yeah, well, Edward can be persuasive like that."

"Edward Quartermaine?" Elizabeth's dark brows furrowed when he nodded. "He's been sticking pretty close to you since you got back, hasn't he?"

Her perception and memory momentarily surprised him, but the older man just nodded once more. "You know what they say – keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"But he seems to like you," the young woman frowned. "Carly says that he's always going on about how great it is to have you back at the company and now things will finally get back on the right track and-"

She stopped when Jason chuckled to himself, finishing off the last of his beer. "He only says that to keep Carly on her toes. He knows that we've been competitive from the first day and so he plays on her insecurities by using me. It's nothing new. And it definitely doesn't mean that he likes me."

"Huh." Elizabeth ran a hand slowly through her dark tousled mane, not noticing how Jason's piercing eyes followed the suggestive moment. "I never would have known that."

He shrugged, motioning for another beer. Claude, who appeared to be dodging his employer, quickly slid two frosty bottles toward the young couple. Jason waved away Elizabeth's protest at buying her a drink, and watched as the young woman twisted off the top and took a sip.

"Edward likes to know what I'm doing at every moment of every day," he sighed, following a bead of condensation with his finger. "It was hard for him to do that when I was away, but now he's got me right where he wants me."

"-Which explains why you're here," Elizabeth laughed, clicking her nails on the glass. "Hiding out, Mister Morgan?"

He chuckled at that. "You could say that. At least I know that Edward would never be caught dead here."

Elizabeth laughed as he shook his head again, once more switching his bottle between his hands. "That's part of why I come here, I guess. It's a quiet bar, doesn't really get big crowds-"

"Gee, thanks, Morgan," Luke drawled, poking his head out of the back room. The couple smirked but ignored him otherwise.

"-there are pool tables in the back, spare rooms upstairs, and I know the owners," Jason continued. "No one really expects anything of me here – I can drink and play pool all day in jeans and an old t-shirt, and no one says anything. It's better than what's waiting for me outside."

She was staring at him as if he'd grown three heads.

"What?"

Elizabeth leaned down to rest her chin in her hand, allowing him a glimpse of her shielded cleavage. "…It never occurred to me that you didn't like what you do."

"It's not that I don't like what I _do_," Jason clarified, shifting in his seat so that his soft t-shirt rubbed up against her bare arm. "…I just don't like what comes with it. The rules, the people, the politics…the wardrobe."

She let out a soft laugh at that. "Then why put up with it at all?"

Jason didn't say anything. Instead, he wrapped one hand around his beer bottle and stared at a point in the wall, as if trying to formulate a thought into words. But it never came out and with each passing moment, Elizabeth grew more and more easy.

"Sorry – I shouldn't have asked," she blurted out, hesitantly nudging him with her elbow. He glanced at her instantly, surprised by the contact. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's not any of my business anyway."

"It's not that," he answered quietly, folding his arms over the counter. "It's hard for me to explain it…It has a lot to do with loyalty. My grandfather and Edward worked together to create ELQ, and my father was on the board before he died. I took his spot afterwards, then got fed up with it and left. And now that I'm back, I think I'm here for good. Still, I can't explain it…"

She waited for him to continue but Jason just trailed off. With a sigh, Elizabeth nibbled on her lip and hesitantly glanced at the businessman before reluctantly reaching out and poking him in the arm. "Hey."

He raised a brow. "Hey, what?"

Elizabeth lifted her shoulders together, maintaining an uncomfortable shrug. "I'm sorry about last week – you know, at Jake's. It was…"

The corner of his mouth twitched with amusement when Jason saw that the spirited brunette was practically choking on her next words.

"…_nice_ of you to come check on me because Carly was worried." She let out a hissing sigh as if the words had an upsetting effect on her constitution.

He accepted her words with a small nod. "I didn't mean to make you angry that night by doing it."

"I know," she responded uncomfortably. "It's just that I've had to deal with one too many well-intentioned but patronizing males coming over at all odd hours to make sure I haven't electrocuted myself or locked myself into a closet or something. Geez, you do it once and you never hear the end of it…"

She wrinkled her nose at him when his lips parted in an easy grin. "Oh, shut up. I was replacing the wiring."

Jason was still chuckling softly. "You do all the repair work around Jake's yourself?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Oh, yeah, everything. You should have seen it when I bought it – it was a total dump. I ripped off all the gutters and put up new ones, then replaced the wiring, then patched up the drywall, and I even had to lay the brick and tile around the back entrance and in the bathrooms. I take care of everything around there. That's why I came over to Luke's today – the roof at Jake's is looking weak and I've been meaning to put a new one up. He has guys help him with the repair work around here, and I just needed some cheap labor for a day or two."

Jason nodded absently, doing his best not to picture the petite brunette in her toolbelt…and nothing else. "Why not hire someone to do all that stuff?"

She shrugged. "To be honest, I kind of like it. I like doing things with my hands."

Luke strolled up to the counter from the back room, smirking when the businessman coughed slightly and took a long pull of his cold drink. He graciously allowed Jason a moment to recover from the remark as he slid a piece of paper with phone numbers across the counter to Elizabeth. "That should do the trick, darlin'. Let me know if you need anything else."

"This is perfect, Luke," she beamed, finishing off her beer and standing up in order to pocket the list. "With a little luck, I'll be able to get started on Tuesday."

"Don't break a nail, angel," the old man called over his shoulder as he resumed his hunt for his floor manager who always managed to disappear when he needed him. "And if you see Claude, tell him that he's re-hired."

"Aw, you decided to hire him back? That was nice of you."

"Nah – I'm hiring him back only so I can fire him again. Claude – CLAUDE! You're fired! You heard me! Fired!"

Elizabeth laughed and adjusted her high bustier before picking up her purse and turning back to Jason. "I should probably be going. I'll see you around, Jason."

"Wait," he called out, standing up from his seat as she turned to leave. "Listen, I'm sorry about the things I said last week. I don't know why I did that and-"

"Don't worry about it," she smirked wryly, playing with her keys. "I have a way of goading people and bringing out the worst in them. Let's just call it a wash, Morgan. Thanks for the drink - See you around."

He stood still, dumbfounded, as the brunette climbed the three steps up to the exit, offering him a most appealing view of her backside and bare shoulders. Luke watched as Elizabeth disappeared and then glanced discreetly at Jason, who was muttering something under his breath.

"Yeah, sure turns out that way, doesn't it?"


	8. Chapter 8

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**--Chapter Eight--**

.:Kelly's, Front courtyard:.

Elizabeth Drake's flip-flops smacked across the cobbled walkway leading up to Kelly's as she absently picked dried crusts of paint off of her white tank top that doubled as her smock. She had thrown a summer dress on over it to hide the spots and streaks when she went out for a bite, and then had hastily added some jeans to the ensemble because she had nicked herself a couple times while shaving that morning. Using a sharp blade to remove small hairs off one's leg while trying to kill a spider in the shower at the same time was not a good idea.

_"On top of Old Smokey, all covered with cheese…"_ Another small streak of Metallic Burgundy was located, peeled off the stain-resistant cotton, and tossed away. _"…I lost my soy meatball when somebody sneezed."_

It was the third Friday of the month, which meant that it was time for their family's traditional dinner at Kelly's. Bobbie would close up the joint and she, Carly, Elizabeth and Noah would all show up and cook dinner together. It would usually be Carly and Bobbie doing the cooking since Elizabeth and Noah were utterly helpless in that area and pretty much lived on take-out for about thirteen years between her mother's death and the day that Noah married Bobbie.

Instead, Elizabeth and Noah would perch themselves on the counter and snack on the ingredients to Carly's main entrée until she exploded and shooed them into the main room to set up the silverware. Once dinner was ready, they'd all sit around one of the little tables and talk about their week, any upcoming plans, their pet projects, work, and of course, men. Both Bobbie and Noah were very much interested in seeing their full-grown daughters settle down, or at least find a nice man to spend time with.

Carly had planned on making spaghetti tonight, and Elizabeth's stomach had been rumbling since two hours after lunch. Bobbie would be bringing fresh vegetables from her little garden behind the Brownstone and she was sure that she and her dad would pack a significant portion of them away before Carly even got around to fixing the salad.

She kicked away a stone that had lodged itself between her toes and continued up the walkway, hunting in her purse for her hand sanitizer. She had spent all afternoon at Jake's, tucked away in the little room that she had forced to be her art studio. Inspiration had hit and she managed to get halfway through a painting before a break was in order. If her streak kept up, she might well be able to finish it before tomorrow, and then her stepmother would have something new to hang above the mantle at the Brownstone.

Elizabeth didn't hear the other set of footsteps coming up the other walkway as she stopped in front of Kelly's, puzzled when she found the windows dark and the Closed sign up. She tested the knob and found it locked, and was just about to pull out her cell phone when Jason Morgan appeared next to her.

"Hey," he muttered, peering in through the windows at the normally bustling little diner. He was dressed in his normal suit, leading her to conclude that he had just come from something work-related. "Kelly's closed tonight?"

"I guess so," Elizabeth shrugged, seeing a note tucked into the wooden windowpane. "I'm as surprised as you are."

Jason watched as she pulled the paper out from the windowpane and unfolded it, quickly skimming the scrawling feminine cursive. "What's it say?"

"It's a note from my stepmom," the brunette sighed, whacking the now folded square of paper against her palm as she frowned at the diner. "She said there was a bus accident and that she and my dad had to run back to General Hospital, and that dinner's off tonight."

Jason quirked a brow at her, not comprehending, and she hastened to explain. "See, it's the third Friday of the month, which means that me, Bobbie, Carly and my dad close up Kelly's and have a family dinner here. Kelly's has always been closed up on the evening of the third Friday of the month since, like, two and a half years ago. My dad and Bobbie must have gotten here before me and Carly and then had to run off and….yeah, they called me."

She chuckled to herself, seeing the six missed calls that her father had made during the seven-minute drive to the hospital. Carly, who actually kept her phone handy and not tucked away in an old sneaker at the bottom of her closet – which was a complete accident – had probably already gotten the message and known not to show up.

"Damn," she sighed, stomping her Indian-style bejeweled flip-flop. "And I was starving, too." It was too bad that the only thing waiting for her back home at Jake's was a moldy bagel and a six-pack of Fresca. Ironically enough, the Fresca disgusted her more than the rotten bread.

Jason scratched his head, glancing at the quiet diner one last time before turning to her. "You know, we could always go grab a bite to eat somewhere else."

She looked back at him carefully, raising one carefully plucked eyebrow. "We?"

He shrugged in an attempt to appear casual. "Sure. We both came here tonight expecting some food, so neither of us has eaten yet. You wanna go? It's on me."

"That's so not the point," she argued, finding the idea not as outlandish as she might have thought previously. "And yes. But no place too fancy, Jason – I'm dressed like that crazy bag lady on the corner of Birch who throws popcorn at people while reciting the Rubaiyat."

Jason chuckled, backing up a step as he ushered her down the walkway where his car was parked. "You look fine."

And it was the truth. He was used to the slightly mismatched outfits she appeared to throw together on a whim, but he really did think Elizabeth looked nice tonight. She was wearing a pair of pencil thin blue jeans with jeweled flip-flops, and had thrown a light, breezy summer dress on over a white camisole. Her hair was down and wavy, pinned up at the sides with blue bobby pins, and she wore a maroon leather cuff bracelet around her right wrist. He certainly wasn't complaining about the view.

"Is this it?" she asked, oblivious of his appreciative scrutiny as she pointed to a black Mercedes. He nodded, unlocking the doors with his automated key and moving around to the passenger side to open hers for her.

"Do you want me to take off my shoes?" Elizabeth asked, already poised to slip her sandals off. "I stepped in a puddle of beer three times before I left Jake's…it was the same puddle, too. I can take them off if you don't want me to ruin your car – no biggie."

He shook his head, motioning for her to get in. "I don't care – it's fine, don't worry about it."

She looked surprised but slid down onto the gray leather and waited patiently as Jason walked around to the other side. One of her past boyfriends back in Philly forced her to take off her shoes every time she got into his car – and he drove a damn Yugo. And yet Jason Morgan, whose car cost as much as her remaining mortgage payment on Jake's, didn't worry himself about that a bit.

"So…where are we going?"

Jason was smirking as he slipped an arm behind her seat and looked over his shoulder, reversing out of the space. "Where do you want to go?"

Elizabeth tapped her chin, thinking, then turned to look up at him as he turned out onto the main street. "I don't know – surprise me! I like surprises."

He glanced sideways at her but said nothing as the petite brunette crossed her legs and folded her hands on her knees, humming along to some song stuck in her head. When the impromptu music stopped abruptly a few seconds later, he glanced over at her once more.

"You okay?"

"Fiddlesticks," she muttered, using one of her father's favorite obscenity euphemisms. "Did you see this huge white streak on my jeans? Damn it! These were new, too! Now they'll have to be smock-jeans."

"I didn't notice it," Jason replied honestly, trying to remember the way to an old restaurant that he used to love. "It won't come off?"

"No," she sighed, scrubbing at the streak with her fingernails. "It's a different kind of paint. Damn, damn, damn."

"What were you doing – redecorating Jake's?"

"Nope. I was painting something for my stepmother. Shoot. Well, I can't be seen in these – I'll have to take them off."

"Um, we're almost there," he replied, glancing nervously at her as the restaurant came into view.

"Don't worry," she assured him, reaching discreetly under the hem of her dress to undo the button. "Keep driving. I just need a sec."

Sure enough, in a few seconds' time Elizabeth Drake had managed to partially undress herself in the passenger seat of his car. Jason kept both eyes firmly on the road, not trusting himself, as she primly folded her stained jeans and held them on her lap.

"You can leave those in the back, if you want," he told her, spotting a parking space and instantly seizing it. "Just pick them up after. It's up to you."

"Yeah, there's no way they'll fit in my tote," she agreed, throwing the jeans into the backseat of the sports car and reaching for her parrot-covered canvas tote bag. "I know I've seen this place before but I can't remember it to save my life – so let's see what you picked."

Jason chuckled and got out of the car, about to make his way over to her side when he saw her standing on the pavement and looking around for a sign. "Come on, let's go," he suggested, pointing out the side entrance.

She smiled back and followed him to the door, quickly stepping inside when he held it open for her. Jason led the way to the main lobby and Elizabeth was suddenly glad that she had decided to ditch her jeans. The rest of the patrons having drinks at the bar while they waited for a table appeared to be dressed in relatively nicer clothes, and she would have stuck out like a sore thumb otherwise.

"Tell Felicia to take a look at it," the proprietor could be heard saying as he walked backward toward the reception desk, still talking to his floor manager. "Yeah, she's the only one that can get the damn cappuccino machine to work, anyway. Okay, folks, what can I do for you?"

Jason tipped his head at the owner. "Mac. How's it looking tonight?"

"The place is packed," Malcolm Scorpio replied, gesturing to the massive main room of the Outback Steakhouse that he ran with his wife. "Table for two?"

He flipped to his chart when Jason nodded, already knowing that he wanted one in the Non-Smoking section. "Alright, you're in luck because I have one ready right now."

The restaurateur's dark chestnut eyes twinkled when they landed on the slightly uncomfortable brunette half-hidden behind Jason's imposing form. "Elizabeth – Elizabeth Drake. I didn't think we'd ever get _you _in here."

"Hi, Mac," she grinned sheepishly, tucking back a loose lock of her hair. "How're the girls?"

"Georgie and Maxie are great," he replied, motioning for them to follow him. "Maxie loves Florida and says that she can see the beach from her dorm, and Georgie's got valedictorian in the bag."

"That's great," Elizabeth called up to him as the man briskly led the way to their table. "I'm so happy for her. Tell her that she needs to stop by Jake's more often; I don't even get to see her anymore."

"Will do," the proud father smiled back happily, motioning for them to sit at the newly bussed table he had provided. "I'll send a guy over with the menus – you kids take your time, have fun, and enjoy your meal. I'll see if we can make any special arrangements for you, Elizabeth."

Jason watched curiously as the brunette blushed and attempted to wave away the remark. "Oh, don't bother, Mac – not on my account. I'm fine."

"Okay," the man pretended to sigh, tossing her a wink, "I'll try not to drag a stuck pig out and traumatize you – nothing like that, I promise."

Elizabeth grimaced but managed to hide it. "That's all I ask, Mac."

The Australian grinned and chucked her chin before turning around and heading back to his wife and that possessed cappuccino machine. A waiter arrived a moment later with menus and then disappeared for another ten minutes. When he appeared once more, Jason was more than ready to order.

He grimaced when his stomach grumbled and handed the two menus to the boy. "Elizabeth?"

"Go ahead," she assured him, nibbling her lip. "I still…need a minute."

"Number seven and a beer – bottle's fine," Jason directed, watching suspiciously as the boy took his time writing it down.

"And you, Ma'am?"

If the term of address displeased her, Elizabeth didn't show it. "I…I think I'll have a garden salad with Italian dressing – is that possible?"

"Um, if by garden salad you mean a few leaves of lettuce with a sliced tomato, half a cucumber and a wilting onion, then, yeah," their server shrugged. "Otherwise…not so much."

"That's fine," the brunette assured him. "And some water would be great – thanks."

"I'll be back with your orders momentarily," the boy recited, turning on his heel and retreating toward the back.

Elizabeth cleared her throat and fidgeted in her seat before she saw her napkin. Pulling the worthy distraction out from under the silverware, she played with the edges as Jason leaned back in his seat.

He watched her uneasily, wondering what her sudden shift in demeanor was all about. At Kelly's, she had proclaimed that she was starving and yet when they actually ordered, she wanted a few leaves of lettuce and some water. If he had known she was one of those girls – the kinds on a Gwenyth-Paltrow-macrobiotic-diet – he would have ordered a salad with her, dropped her off at Jake's post haste, and then gotten himself some _real _food.

He had dated women in the past like that, women that were so obsessed with appearing ladylike and being so skinny that they disappeared when they turned sideways, and he had never once figured Elizabeth to be one of them. She seemed healthy enough, active enough, self-confident enough. And with a body like hers, there was no way that she needed to eat nothing but plankton. If anything, a little meat would do her good.

Jason let out a sigh and leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table as he watched her fold her napkin into a swan. "You okay?"

She looked up, surprised. "Yeah, sure – what gives?"

"I don't know," he replied, tugging on his earlobe. "You said you were starving but…look, if you want to go somewhere else, just say the word."

Elizabeth fidgeted uneasily but shook her head. "No, no – you wanted to come here, and I told you to surprise me. The Outback is a great place, and I adore Mac and his family. This is just fine, Jason, really."

He didn't question her further but chose instead to let it go. They filled up the next fifteen minutes with idle chatter: Carly, ELQ, Jake's, her art – all of those subjects were covered. Both Jason and Elizabeth looked up, relieved, when their half-stoned server finally returned with their food and botched it all up by putting Jason's steak in front of Elizabeth and her pitiful salad in front of the ravenous businessman.

Jason watched as the brunette graciously ushered the boy away and switched the plates, holding his right by the edge and quickly wiping the grease from her fingertips off on her napkin. Puzzled and slightly put off, Jason picked up his steak knife and fork and watched as Elizabeth began to pour her dressing onto her salad.

She was already devouring hers before he finished cutting his T-bone. She ate ravenously enough, but that still didn't make up for the fact that she was sitting at the best steak restaurant within a forty-mile radius and eating a damn _salad_.

Dinner conversation was pleasant enough. Elizabeth kept him mildly amused and overwhelmingly confused with various personal anecdotes: at long last, he finally learned the story behind the troublesome Richard Nixon chew toy and how it had saved Elizabeth from a junkyard Doberman Pinscher when the petite brunette had gone off in search of a new Mercedes metallic logo for her stepsister's car instead of letting the clueless blonde shell out big bucks to a dealer for a replacement.

In turn, Jason doled out a few obligatory stories about his previous life in Port Charles. He told her of his days roughhousing behind Luke's and the time he spent at Wyndemere with Nikolas and Stefan learning how to fence and ride. Elizabeth had listened eagerly and laughed at all the right moments, but there was still something off about the evening that Jason couldn't properly reconcile.

She was pleasant enough when he dropped her off at Jake's, and thanked him sincerely for dinner and the ride, but something was still off. Jason waited until she was safely inside the building and he saw a light on upstairs before turning out of the lot with a heavy sigh.

His first unofficial date with Elizabeth Drake had proved to be a total bust.


	9. Chapter 9

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**--Chapter Nine--**

.:Port Charles Hotel, Fourth floor, Room 431:.

"So, what, is he, like, a monk?" Elizabeth wondered, cramming a heaping spoonful of Moose Tracks into her mouth as The Princess Bride played on Carly's big screen. Her stepsister had been spending most of her free time house-hunting but had yet to find anything that she absolutely loved, and so their Sunday night ritual was safe for the time being.

"Nah," Carly answered, throwing her legs over the arm of the sofa. "Jason's just a serial monogamist."

"Mm?"

"Yeah. He's only had a couple relationships, all of them serious."

Elizabeth's eyebrows jumped at the uncharacteristic description of a member of the male species. "_Really_."

It wasn't a question but Carly treated it as such. "Oh, yeah. His first girlfriend was…gosh, what was her name? Oh, yeah, Keesha Ward. You know Justus Ward, right? His daughter."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know. They were pretty serious but then things kind of started changing. Her dad wanted her to go to law school, which she wanted, too, and that was around the same time that Jason stepped into the corporate world. They didn't have much time to be together anymore and just drifted apart."

Elizabeth's full lower lip stuck out in a small pout. "Sad."

"Yeah," Carly nodded, thinking of her own break-up with Jasper Jacks before snapping herself out of it. "Next came…um…shoot, Nikolas told me about her. Um, Brenda Barrett. Yeah, one of his college-classmates-turned-model, another entitled rich brat who's Daddy Dearest gave her everything she wanted on a silver platter. That surprised a lot of people, mostly because everyone said Brenda was way too fast and out there to be with a steady, dependable kind of guy like Jason."

"How long did they last?"

"About a year and a half – although how they did it was beyond me," Carly shrugged. "According to Nikolas, they fought all the time. Eventually, Jason decided he had enough and didn't need that kind of aggravation at work _and _at home so he walked away. Moped around for a few days then bounced back after that. They see each other once a year at her dad's Christmas party in New York City and exchange pleasantries at the punch bowl for exactly forty-three seconds before pretending like they're needed elsewhere."

"Geez, you stalk them or something?"

The blonde laughed, licking a drop of ice cream from her thumb. "Nah – Nikolas is there every single time. He finds it damn funny."

"Anyone after that?"

"Yeah – Robin Soltini, an old friend of Nikolas' since they were kids. Her father deals with the government – I think he's a weapons or technology contractor. Something like that – selling stuff to the government or whatever. Her mother comes from the Devane family – the oil tycoons from Wales. That girl had business in her blood."

Elizabeth listened patiently, nodding along. "Sounds like they were a good match."

"You know, from what I hear, they really were," Carly mused, tapping her spoon on the rim of her bowl. "For two years, they were joined at the hip. They fit perfectly because their lifestyles and families were pretty much the same. But then…"

Her stepsister quirked a brow at her. "Oh, no. What happened?"

"Robin found a bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold, Holden-Caulfield, James-Dean, John-Travolta-circa-hotness kind of guy named Stone Cates and dumped Jason for him. They ran off to Niagara Falls and got hitched in about a week. Still married, one kid, one on the way. She sends him Christmas cards."

"Ouch."

"Oh, yeah, it was a huge surprise to everyone."

"How'd he do after that?"

"About as well as could be expected. Left Port Charles for New York City, transferred into that big fancy-pants firm of his, threw himself into his work. I'm not totally sure about what went on downstate, but word on the street is that he wasn't looking for romance this time around and pretty much kept to himself."

Elizabeth nodded absently, trying to process all the information her in-the-know sister had just heaped onto her plate. She had thought there was a reason that Jason seemed so stiff and aloof on their informal dinner date Friday night. When she got home, she had just written it off as him being the same cold fish type that she had pegged him to be since their first big fat happy sunshine day encounter.

But Carly had shed some light on the situation. It was no wonder that Jason seemed distant and uncertain – he'd been burned before, and from what it sounded like, hadn't been on a date in quite a while. He was pleasant enough, that was true, but at the time she still didn't think she wanted to give it another go. But now it seemed that the least she could do was cut him some slack, especially if he was actually making an effort to get to know her.

The tap of Carly's spoon against the rim of her empty bowl snapped Elizabeth out of her silent reverie, and she looked over to find her stepsister studying her carefully.

"Okay, Elle," she started, turning around cross-legged on the couch so that she could face her directly. "Level with me: what gives?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, give it up – no one's buying the innocent act," Carly huffed, setting her bowl and spoon on the coffee table. "What's the deal with you wanting the skinny on Jason Morgan? What do you care who he's dated? Come on, Elle, talk to me here."

"Okay, okay, fine," she relented, knowing that resistance was futile wherever Carly was concerned. "I was just asking because I…I was curious, okay?"

"Uh-huh. Why?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her sister's bland voice. "I…we…kinda went out together on Friday night."

"…Went out as in a he showed up and you conked him over the head and dropped his body in a ditch sort of way?"

"…Went out in a date sort of way."

"A _date _sort of way?"

"Okay, a date-date sort of way."

"A_ date-date_ sort of way?!"

"My God, Carly, find a pirate to sit on!"

"I'm sorry," the blonde sputtered, holding her fingers to her temples. "I'm just trying to comprehend how the Hell my kid stepsister could have, first, gone out with the man that makes Rupert Murdock look approachable and, second, not told me sooner! _Friday _night? Jesus, Elle, that's a way the Hell long time ago!"

"I know, I know," the brunette exclaimed, exasperated. A fat throw cushion soon found itself held captive against her chest as she turned on the couch, facing her sister and in full confession mode. "I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you that night but I was afraid you'd do…that."

"What, you mean try to find a hemlock to swallow?"

"Yeah."

Carly sighed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Okay, I'll try to stay calm and resist the urge to scrub you down with Lysol long enough for you to spill. So spill."

"I showed up at Kelly's for Friday Night Dinner, right? But when I got there, the place was closed up and-"

"Hello? Didn't you get Mom's message?"

"Well, Dad called me, like, six times, but my phone was…you know what? It's a long story."

Carly smirked wisely at her stepsister. "Was it in your shoe again?"

"No," Elizabeth replied witheringly. "It was…I accidentally let it fall out the window into the hedges. There – you satisfied? Anyway, so I found my phone and ran to Kelly's and saw that Dad called, and Bobbie left me a note telling me what happened. And that's when Jason showed up. He wanted to get something to eat and didn't know about the Friday Night thing, so he asked me what was up and I told him."

"And then? He forced hallucinogenic pills down your throat and when you woke up from the haze you found out to your abject horror that you were somehow on a date with him?"

"Close."

"Oh, thank God."

"-He asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him and I said yes."

"That's not close!"

"Well, I didn't want to make you feel bad."

Carly growled and buried her head in her hands. She loved her sister, but sometimes the girl was unbelievable – like when she was spontaneously going on dates with Jason Morgan and not spending her every breathing minute calling him a tool. _That _was textbook insanity right there.

"Okay, fine, so dinner."

"Yeah. He asked me where I wanted to go and I told him to surprise me. Next thing I know…he's taking me to the Outback."

Her sister's eyes bulged. "The Outback? As in, Mac's Outback?"

"The same," Elizabeth shrugged.

"Elle – didn't you tell him that you're-"

"I didn't," she answered with a shake of her head. "I mean, it didn't feel right._ I_ was the one that told _him _to pick, and he was so nice to ask me to dinner because he knew I was starving and…no, I didn't tell him. But it was no big deal – I mean, I ate."

Carly just shook her head. "Then what?"

"Nothing, really. We talked through dinner – just random stuff – and he dropped me off at Jake's."

"…And then?"

"And then, what?"

"…And _then_?"

"Carly, nothing. I didn't sleep with him or anything."

"Are you sure?" she persisted, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose there's the distinct possibility that we tried out every position in the Kama Sutra and I just forgot about it."

Carly scowled and poked her – hard. "So - no sex?"

"No sex."

"What about kissies?"

"No kissies."

"Oh, thank God!" the blonde cried out, jumping across the couch to throw her arms around the petite brunette. "I haven't lost you after all! You're not tainted!"

"Gee, thanks, Sis," Elizabeth gasped, trying to breathe.

"What?" she asked innocently, pulling back and folding her hands in her lap. "I'm just looking out for your best interests. And trust me, having Jason Morgan dip his doodle in your poodle is _not _in your best inter-"

"Carly!" Mortified, the brunette gaped at her sister. "Jeez! Just once, I'd like to have a memory with you that I don't have to repress!"

The blonde grinned smugly, burrowing back into the couch cushions as Buttercup fell gracefully flailing out of a window. "Keep away from Jason's doodle, and neither one of us will have to repress anything," she replied sweetly.

Elizabeth pulled a blanket up to her chin, sulking while Buttercup and Wesley rode away from the palace. "I disagree."

**.:Wyndemere, Stables:.**

"Mrs. Lansbury," Nikolas sighed into his cell phone, trying to reassure his harried housekeeper. "I assure you, whatever you decide to put on the menu for the Bacchanalian Ball will be fine…Yes, I've always found salmon puffs agreeable…I do believe the guests should have that option, yes…all right. All right, Mrs. Lansbury, that will be fine. Goodbye."

Jason chuckled, rubbing down the large bay stallion that stood before him. He and Nikolas had just spent the better part of the morning racing around the island on two of his finest thoroughbreds at Stefan's urging, and Jason had to admit that it had been a welcome change of pace. "She's already worried about the food for the ball?"

Nikolas shook his head, familiar with his housekeeper's peculiar ways. The Bacchanalian Ball had become a tradition at Wyndemere ever since he and his uncle had taken up residence there, and it was a fine opportunity to mingle with the other people of Port Charles – the ones that were lucky enough to be on the guest list, at any rate.

"You know how she is," he sighed, patting his own black stallion on his velvet muzzle. "She wants everything to be perfect, and she knows that Uncle and I are incapable of seeing to the preparations ourselves. The ball gives her an opportunity to show off the house and her talent."

"Well, she's really good at what she does," Jason agreed, scooping up a few sugar cubes and waiting for his horse to lap them up from his palm. "Wyndemere's a crypt, but she makes it look almost like a home."

Nikolas laughed good-naturedly and pulled a burr from his horse's glistening coat before reaching for a washcloth to wipe away the lather that had formed from the race. "You're still coming, right?"

His small smile grew when Jason nodded. "Good – it'll make things a bit more interesting, at the very least. I only go along with this mess for Uncle's sake; he thinks I need to build on my social networking skills and all of that. But honestly…the Bacchanalian is quite tedious."

"You don't have to tell me," Jason muttered, tossing the soiled washcloths into a nearby laundry bin. His horse snorted, demanding more sugar cubes, and stomped his left foot on the ground. "I've been coming since you two moved in."

"Yes, and I still feel badly about that," his old friend pretended to sigh with guilt though his twinkling eyes gave him away. "But this year should be better than last. For one thing, you're here, and for another, Carly and Elle will actually be able to attend this time. Last year they were off white-water rafting or something outrageous like that – Carly came home and swore she'd never leave again, sister-bonding be damned."

Jason just smirked, shaking his head. "Anything's possible when it comes to Elizabeth, huh?"

"I'm afraid so," the Prince chuckled. "I invited Elle the year before last, to be nice. We were just starting to become friends and I thought she'd have a good time coming along with Carly and Jax."

"And? Did she?"

"…You could say that," Nikolas grinned, taking his horse's reins in his hand and undoing them from the bridle. "She and Luke spent the whole night boozing up Uncle and a couple of his friends, then trounced them in a lively game of poker. It was…fantastic."

Jason laughed deeply, not the least bit surprised. "Yeah, that sounds like her."

"I wonder what she'll have planned for this year," the Prince smiled to himself. "She's been telling me that she's not above jumping off the docks at the launch and going skinny-dipping off the shore, so…we'll see."

He looked over at his friend when Jason coughed, sputtering for breath. "You okay?"

"Fine," came the instant reply.

"Carly'll be coming stag this year," Nikolas continued solemnly. "That's too bad. I wonder if Elle will bring a date…I don't think so."

Jason quirked a brow at his old friend. "Why not?"

The young man shrugged. "She hasn't really dated much since she got to Port Charles. Carly says she had two boyfriends back in Philadelphia, and she and Lucky Spencer dated a couple times when she and Noah moved here."

"Elizabeth and Lucky?" That was news to him. "What happened?"

"Nothing much," came the casual reply. "I guess they discovered that they didn't really have much chemistry because they stopped dating and settled on being good friends instead. And to be honest…"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I think Elle's too caught up with everything else in her life right now to consider a serious relationship," Nikolas confided. "Her dad just got remarried not too long ago, about thirteen years after her mother died. She has a new stepmother and a new stepsister, and she's making sure that she has a good relationship with them. She just bought up Jake's a while back and almost all of her free time goes into that place and keeping it running. Plus, she's got her little band on the side, not to mention her art, which she doesn't really have much time for anyway."

Jason was nodding to himself as Nikolas finished rubbing down his horse and began to lead him to his stall. "What Elle needs is a very low-maintenance kind of guy – the kind that doesn't mind if she's blocking out the third Friday night of every month without question to spend time with her family. The kind that doesn't care if she's running around repatching the roof at three in the morning – the kind that doesn't worry if she locks herself up and paints all day. Someone that doesn't need her to always be hovering over him. That's the kind of guy that Elle needs – and hasn't really found, I guess."

The Prince chuckled to himself, giving his horse one last pat on the muzzle. "Hey, if you know anyone that fits the bill, you might want to drop Carly a hint. She and Jax were always trying to introduce Elle to some of their friends for that express reason."

He stopped mid-pat when he saw Jason looking at him strangely. "What?"

"…Nothing."

"No, seriously, what?" Nikolas pressed, locking the stall door so Gabriel couldn't break out like he was prone to do. "I mean, I know Elle's kind of…_unique_, but that doesn't mean…"

He trailed off, studying his old friend who was suddenly paying Enkidu an _awful _lot of attention. "…You like her."

His grin grew when Jason glared at him. "Oh, man, you really like her."

The other man growled low in his throat, untangling the horse's mane and ignoring the animal when it snorted its displeasure. He could feel Nikolas' amused chestnut eyes on him as he backed the animal up into the stall and moved after it, taking down a white blanket from a peg.

"You and Elle? Seriously?"

Jason rolled his eyes, hearing Nikolas' chuckles, and tossed the blanket over Enkidu. The animal tossed its mane, waiting patiently as Jason snapped the white blanket around its middle so that it stayed securely on, then moved away to shut the stall door.

"Jason, you've got to tell me – since when? Does Carly know?"

"No," he answered immediately. "It's nothing, really – I just took her out to dinner once."

The young Prince found this tidbit extremely interesting and rested an arm on the stall door, leaning his face away when Gabriel tried to nuzzle against him. "When?"

"…Friday night."

"And?"

"And what?"

Nikolas rolled his eyes. Sometimes, his friend was just impossible. "Well, for starters-"

"I didn't plan to," Jason interjected, sullenly holding his palm out to Enkidu and waiting for the stallion to lick up the sugar. "It just kind of…happened. We both showed up at Kelly's and it was closed so…I asked if she wanted to get something to eat."

"And?"

This time, Jason wasn't as reticent. "I don't know. Something was different. She was nice and kept telling me the craziest stories – and she thanked me when I dropped her off at Jake's. But…Seriously, Nikolas, what kind of woman goes to a steakhouse and only orders a wilting salad? It's just the-"

"Wait a minute," his friend directed, holding up his hand. "Did you say steakhouse?"

"Yeah," Jason shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything else, so I ended up at the Outback."

His brows furrowed when the Prince rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What?"

"Jason," he sighed, quirking a brow at his friend. "You took her to the _Outback _and you're wondering why she only ate a salad?"

The sarcasm that accompanied the question, which seemed to him perfectly legitimate, surprised him. "…Yeah."

The Prince smirked, still shaking his head. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe Elle doesn't eat meat?"

That was something he hadn't thought of and Jason's eyes widened in sudden understanding as Nikolas continued. "Elle's a Vegan. She eats dairy and certain kinds of fish, I mean, so she's not as strict as some, but she hasn't eaten ever eaten red or white meat since she was little. She had some really bad tainted meat when she was seven, and she got so sick then that now, sometimes even the smell makes her vomit. Noah's the same way - he and Elle are both Vegans. Everyone in town knows that."

He stopped when Jason muttered something under his breath, then apologized. "…Well, everyone but you, I guess."

"Why didn't she say anything?"

"Who knows?" Nikolas shrugged. "She probably didn't want to be a pain. She doesn't go around advertising her dietary habits – she said one time that she doesn't want to come off like she's preaching about the evils of meat. She probably just went with it because you had offered to take her out and thought it would be rude if she said anything."

Jason shook his head to himself, wondering why the answer hadn't occurred to him. If Elizabeth had so much as said the word, he would have found some other restaurant for her. He locked up the stall door and stepped back, letting out a heavy sigh. Maybe it was time he cut Elizabeth Drake some slack and stopped jumping to conclusions about her.

Nikolas had been watching him carefully during this time and smiled to himself. Jason secured the stall door and moved to leave and the Prince quickly followed suit lest his preoccupation be discovered. After Jason's little revelation, something told him that the Bacchanalian Ball would be even more interesting this year.


	10. Chapter 10

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**--Chapter Ten--**

.:Luke's Bar:.

"Luke! Luuuuuuuke!"

Jason heard her before he even saw her. And when he turned around, sure enough, there was Elizabeth Drake hopping down the steps into Luke's bar with a peculiar contraption tucked under her arm. She wore her favorite pair of blue jeans – the ones with the gaping hole at the knee – and a gray tank top with a cluster of pool balls at the top center, and her hair was down and curly, just the way he liked it.

Keeping his eyes on her, Jason dropped the pool cue he held onto the red felt and slowly shuffled over. She still hadn't seen him in the dimly lit bar and was making her way toward the counter where Claude was polishing glasses.

"Claude, have you seen Luke anywhere?"

"Don't ask him – he doesn't work here," came a voice from the back and a few seconds later, an irritated Luke Spencer pushed back the curtain of beads and stalked out to pour himself a stiff drink. "Claude, I thought I fired you today."

"Twice, Mr. Spencer."

Elizabeth's eyes twinkled when the old man nodded to himself, pleased. "Oh, good," he chuckled, tossing her a wink. "I'm glad I'm not losing my touch."

The brunette rolled her eyes playfully and opened her mouth to speak, but someone else had already distracted Luke. The old man had the attention span of a gold fish sometimes.

"Jason – want another?"

"That'd be great, Luke," the young man nodded, sidling up next to Elizabeth and tipping his head at her.

"Oh, hey, Jason," she smiled, balancing the peculiar metal contraption on a stool. "I just keep running into you, don't I?"

He offered her a small smile at that, but quickly pressed on to what he had come over to say as Luke pulled a bottle of beer out of the mini cooler and watched on curiously. "I…I just wanted to apologize for the other night."

The regret in his eyes made her take pause, and Elizabeth couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. "Why? I had a good time."

"I had no idea you didn't eat meat," he clarified, lifting one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "If I knew, I would have taken you somewhere else."

Her lips stretched into an easy smile and she waved her hand, dismissing his apology. "Oh, that…"

"Elizabeth, why didn't you tell me? I would have found someplace else that-"

"Jason, really, it's fine," she assured him, settling a small hand on his forearm, temporarily forgetting that Luke was watching the two of them with unabashed interest. "It's no big deal – I ate, didn't I?"

"You had three leaves of lettuce-"

"I'm telling you, it's fine. I don't eat that much anyway."

"You said you were starving-"

"Jason." She gave his arm a little squeeze, her sapphire eyes twinkling with mirth. "It's very nice of you, but honestly, it's fine. I ordered a pizza when I got home and invited Carly over, so it was nobody's loss. And I know I could have said something but…I didn't want to be rude, especially since you were so nice to take me out. I'm not one to rock the boat."

"No – you capsize it," he muttered, breaking into an impish grin when she swatted his thick bicep.

"Very funny," she glared at him, reaching out for the item that she had brought along with her. "Luke, you can snap your mouth shut any time now – story time is over."

"Sorry, darlin', but I gotta find some entertainment somewhere," he shrugged. "Especially since Claude here refuses to dance like a monkey for my amusement."

"I bet that was why you fired him, huh?" Elizabeth smirked back, watching Claude as he made a hasty retreat. "Anyway, I came back to return your pogo stick."

"Oh, I was wondering where that damn thing went," Luke exclaimed, happily taking the contraption that she extended to him over the counter.

Jason had no clue what was going on, but that wasn't anything new. Instead, he watched as Elizabeth nodded along. "Thanks for lending it to me – you were right, it really got the job done."

"You can borrow it again the next time you need to make those repairs, darlin'," he told her, setting the pogo stick down behind the counter. "Can I get you a drink? What'll it be?"

"A glass of water would be great, Luke," she smiled sheepishly. "It's boiling out there."

"Water," the old man muttered contemptuously, rummaging in his cooler for a bottle. "She comes into my bar and all she wants is water. Darlin', have you ever heard of a guy named Jesus H. Christ? You remember what he used to go around turning water into? Man, you could win an awful lot of bar bets with a skill like that…"

"What does the H stand for, Luke?"

"Huh?"

"What does the H stand for? In Jesus' name?"

"…How the hell am I supposed to know?" the old man blustered, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm not a Bible scholar. Honestly, darlin', sometimes I worry about you."

The brunette shook her head and accepted the water, glancing over at Jason. "_This _is what I have to deal with."

She took a swig of the cool liquid as he chuckled, then abruptly reached out and poked him. "Hey – I meant to ask you. Are you going to be at Wyndemere for the Bacchanalian Ball?"

Jason nodded, taking another pull of his beer as Luke poured himself half a glass of scotch on the rocks. "Yeah, I've always gone – except for the past three years. I couldn't get away then."

Elizabeth nodded, not needing an explanation. "Good – I'm coming, too. So's Carly, but she's going stag. So, anyway, I was thinking…maybe you'd want to go together?"

"Together?"

"Yeah, you know, like, _I_ put on something pretty…_you _put on something pretty…_I _show up at the party…_you _show up at the party…_we _show up at the party…tell me when I can stop conjugating."

He chuckled, spinning his bottle around on the counter. "Yeah, that sounds good. But, I'm sorry, I can't pick you up – Nikolas and I have some business to take care of so I'm taking the launch over to Wyndemere in the morning."

"Oh, that's no problem," Elizabeth answered quickly. "I'll just meet you there – that sound okay?"

"Sure, that'd be fine."

"Great," she beamed, quickly twisting the top back onto her bottle and grabbing her purse. "Okay, so I'll see you then. Thanks for the water, Luke. Bye!"

Jason watched as she turned and trotted away, off to finish the rest of her errands for the day. She pulled the door open and stopped, turning around to flash him a cute little grin and then disappeared. Letting out a heavy sigh, the young man turned around to face Luke behind the counter.

But the old man's eyes were still on the door as he stared in bewilderment, still clutching his glass of scotch. His pale topaz eyes then darted from the door to Jason and then back again. "Jason Morgan just managed to finagle himself a date…?"

Jason watched humorlessly as Luke looked at his liquor for a long moment before emptying the entire glass down the drain.

**.:Port Charles Hotel, Fourth floor, Room 431:.**

"Where are your shoes?"

Carly Benson bumped her head on the bottom of the coffee table as she picked up a few kernels of caramel popcorn underneath, and she glanced over at her bedroom suite in irritation at the sound of her sister's frantic yell.

"Two goddamn closets full of nothing but shoes and I can't find-"

"Which ones do you want?" Carly yelled back. "I've got a system. Gimme the make, model and color. Year is optional."

"I'm not buying a used car, you freak! I just want a pair of burgundy Manolo's with the little rhinestone…ooh! Found 'em!"

The blonde rolled her eyes and shuffled off toward the trashcan, knowing that she'd better get ready if she was going to be at the ball in time. This year, she was on her own – and Elle was going to be her date. It was a good thing that her stepsister was planning on coming along because the Bacchanalian was usually quite a bore, despite Nikolas' best efforts to get some energy in the room. In previous years, she and Jax would always hang around on the terrace and poke fun at the rest of the high-society types inside, but this year she couldn't do even that.

With a sigh, she walked over to the master bedroom where she had laid her clothes out that morning. Her stepsister was running around looking for pantyhose as Carly carefully pulled on her new orange full-length gown, mindful of the heavy golden-yellow beadwork and embroidery. As she pulled her long blonde mane up into a fancy ponytail, she could hear Elizabeth in the master bedroom, emptying out the contents of her jewelry box on her bed.

Closing her eyes, Carly made a mental note to lock her massive jewelry collection up and stick it somewhere in the kitchen where she knew Elizabeth would never go. It took her about ten minutes to put on her makeup and when Carly finally came out of the bathroom, dressed and primped and ready to go, she wasn't surprised to see that Elizabeth still looked a mess.

"What's wrong with you?" she snipped, opening her closet door and pulling out the deep burgundy gown that she had agreed to lend to the younger woman for the night. "I mean, I know you're bad, but you're never _this _bad. Seriously, Elle, get a move on."

"I know, I know," Elizabeth huffed, hopping on one leg as she adjusted her pantyhose. "I'm sorry I'm borrowing your hose, but mine had a run and a Dr. Pepper stain. How the hell do you get Dr. Pepper on pantyhose? Oh, well – the eternal question pops up yet again-"

"Elle…"

"Fine, fine," the brunette sighed, exasperated. She straightened her stockings and adjusted her bra, then trotted across the room to take the gown from Carly's arms and leapt into the bathroom. "Out in a minute!"

"No woman has ever been out in a minute when she's getting dressed," Carly groused, sitting down carefully on the lounge chair by her window. Her gown wrinkled easily and if she showed up at Wyndemere looking like the puppy in those detergent ads, her darling stepsister would find her morning coffee laced with cyanide.

"Don't measure me by _your _standards!" came the indignant reply from behind the bathroom door.

"Hurry up or the only thing I'll be measuring you for will be coffin size!"

_"Jawohl, mein Fuhrer."_

"_What _did you just say?!"

"Nothing," Elizabeth sang out, opening the bathroom door with a flourish to reveal the gown. She twirled once, her arms stretched over her head. "Don't I look pretty? Tell me how much."

"You'd be prettier if your hair didn't look like the nest of an angry beaver," Carly pointed out, pulling her sister over to the vanity. Elizabeth sat with a _thump _as her stepsister quickly whipped out her curling iron and opened the three drawers filled with various makeup items.

"You paint, I curl," she directed, plugging in the iron as Elizabeth pulled out the foundation and makeup wedges. "Honestly, Elle."

"Oh, the things women do for beauty," the brunette sighed dramatically, smoothing the air-whipped foundation mousse over her cheekbones. "What was that, Carly?"

Her grumbling sister flashed her a sweet smile in the mirror. "Nothing I care to repeat."

Together, it took them almost twenty minutes to make the petite brunette look presentable. By the time they were done, Carly was quite pleased with their handiwork. Her sister's cheeks were blooming with a rich crimson blush that matched her dress but was subtle enough to look almost natural. She had done her eyes up to be smoky and hazy and had slicked on a clear lip-gloss, choosing to leave her lips nude.

Her hair, dark and thick and often barely manageable, cascaded down her back in fat curls and tight ringlets alike. Elizabeth had selected some of Carly's more ornate, Indian-style jewelry to borrow and was snapping a silver-and-garnet choker around her swan-like neck as her sister passed her the matching rings.

"Oh – I hear my phone," Carly muttered, dropping a few bobby pins on the dresser top. "Hurry up, will you? I hate being late."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Elizabeth snapped, trying to get her hair to look exactly right.

"What are you doing that for?"

"I want it to look…better."

"It looks fine! Normally, you could care less once it's curled and frizz-free. Who're you getting all dolled up for, anyway?"

"The same person who's probably hanging up right now because you're over here yapping?"

"Damn it," the blonde muttered, picking her hem up off the floor and raced over to the living room. "Just hurry, okay?"

Her phone was sitting on the couch and she snatched it up quickly, mildly surprised to see that it was Jason's number that flashed on the screen. "What?"

_"Carly?"_

"What, Morgan?"

_"Is Elizabeth around?"_

"Yeah."

_"…Can I talk to her?"_

The request surprised her, and Carly frowned. "Why? And why didn't you just call her on her own phone?"

_"…Carly, I'm talking about Elizabeth."_

"Oh. Never mind." Chuckling sheepishly, she brushed a loose tendril of hair back behind her ear. "She's getting ready now, so-"

_"Just tell her that it looks like I might be a little late to the Bacchanalian tonight. Nikolas and I are here at Wyndemere right now and we ran into a small problem but I'll be down as soon as I can. Thanks."_

With that, Jason hung up and left Carly to stare at her phone in utter bewilderment, wondering what the hell he was talking about and why he thought Elizabeth would care.

"…Elle?"

"Ready!" she cried, running out from the bedroom with her shoes in her hands. "We can go!"

"That was Jason on the phone."

Her stepsister blinked back innocently. "Oh? ELQ stuff?"

"No," Carly replied, slightly confused. "Actually, he wanted to talk to you."

"Me? Why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, slipping her phone into her purse. "He said to tell you that he and Nikolas were running a little late but he'd be down as soon as he could – as if you'd care."

"Well, that's strange," her sister agreed, sounding slightly too chipper for her own good. Her sapphire eyes twinkled as she slipped on her shoes and then grabbed her sister's elbow, leading her to the door.

"It really is," Carly murmured, absently standing by as the brunette pulled the door open. "I mean, he sounded kind of…he sounded like…"

"Like what, Carly?"

"I don't know, like he thought he was meeting you there – like a date." The thought made Carly laugh, and she didn't notice Elizabeth's telltale smirk. "Oh, man, that's hilarious – the poor deluded kid actually thinks you'd go out with him again. Man, that's totally…Elle?"

Her sister locked the door and dropped the keys in Carly's purse, smirking, and the tall blonde frowned. "Elle? Why aren't you agreeing with me?"

The smirk turned into a full-fledged grin and Carly would have kicked the wall if she wasn't wearing her brand new Vera Wang sandals. "Oh, damn it, Elle!"

**.:Spoon Island, Wyndemere, Grand Ballroom:.**

Jason Morgan nodded politely at Stefan Cassidine as the older man approached him, drink already in hand.

"Jason," he smiled, shaking the young man's hand firmly. "I didn't expect you down here so soon."

"Nikolas and I finished up a bit sooner than planned," he answered, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Mrs. Lansbury did a good job tonight."

"Didn't she, though?" Stefan mused, looking around the grand ballroom that his housekeeper had arranged to be decorated with large, blooming flowers. "It's such a nice change, isn't it? This old mausoleum benefits greatly from her touch."

Jason smirked against the rim of a glass of scotch that a server had just handed him, nodding. "I think so."

"We're seeing a wonderful crowd tonight," the older man continued, gesturing discreetly to the other guests. "The Quartermaines have arrived, as have the Barringtons and the Jones'. I do believe that your good friend Luke Spencer is scheduled to make an appearance tonight, as well…along with your friend Caroline and Miss Elizabeth Drake."

Jason's smile was sly and knowing as he nudged Stefan with his elbow. "Whatever she gives you tonight – don't drink it."

The older man chuckled, almost sputtering on his cognac. "Yes, yes, I know. I dare say, the last time I allowed that wisp of a girl to freshen my drink, I ended up losing three of my islands! She had the nerve to tell me the next day that she was going to build a giant water park there on one of them and keep the other two for show. The cheeky little thing."

Stefan shook his head, still amused at his tricky little friend and hoping that she would make an appearance, even though an appearance by Elle Drake always seemed to cost him. He patted Jason's shoulder, a familiar gesture, and set his empty glass on a server's tray.

"I'd best be off, seeing to the guests," he excused himself. "Stay as long as you like, Jason – you may spend the night if you wish, if you and Nikolas have more business to see to."

Jason watched as he walked away, heading toward Scott and Dominique Baldwin. Absently, he swirled the ice cubes around in his glass and glanced at his watch, wondering if Carly and Elizabeth planned to make an entrance any time soon.

Jasper Jacks tipped his head at him as Jason moved the back of the room, already feeling awkward at standing out in the open and hoping that some young woman wouldn't take the opportunity to ask him to dance. He slipped past Alexis Davis and nodded at Ned Quartermaine, the lone prodigal son who refused to take part in the family company and instead managed the L&B recording label where Elizabeth's friend Kelly worked.

He spotted the doors leading out to the terrace and considered hiding out there for a while. That way, he'd be able to spot Elizabeth when she arrived and in the meantime wouldn't have to put up with any of the other guests…like the Quartermaines, who happened to be conveniently standing at the bar, right between him and his intended exit.

With a sigh, Jason took a gulp of his drink and weighed his options. If he wanted his freedom, he'd have to run the risk of being spotted by the old man. Still, it seemed a risk worth taking and since their backs were turned as they fixed themselves a drink, it seemed possible.

Jason could hear them talking as he attempted to ease by without being noticed, not that he cared to hear what they were saying. Still, a few words jumped out at him and he couldn't help but linger nearby, trying to catch more.

"These parties are such a bore," Alan sighed, waiting as his drink was fixed. "I don't know why we come."

"Because we work with Nikolas, unfortunately," Monica groused, running a hand through her styled blonde hair. "And snubbing his invitation would be a grave faux-pas."

"I enjoy these parties," Edward announced, puffing out his chest. "I do find them so…valuable. So many wonderful opportunities to be found in this room, hm?"

"Father, what are you talking about?"

"Edward, you look as smug as a bug. What are you planning?"

"Can't an old man come to a social gathering and just expect to have a pleasant time?"

"No," replied his son and daughter-in-law in perfect unison.

"Fine," Edward groused, motioning for the young bartender to hurry it up with his drink. "I'm looking forward to…forging a new alliance this evening."

Jason stepped away and out of sight as Alan and Monica looked over their shoulders, trying to figure out who Edward meant. "Who, Father? We have connections with every family in this room. Who do you mean?"

"I mean, that lovely young lady right over there – with Stefan, see? The one in the red dress with her hair down, like a hippie."

Monica squinted at the pretty brunette kissing Stefan's cheek. "Isn't that Noah Drake's daughter? Elizabeth?"

"That's her," Alan agreed, "Carly's sister. What does she have that you want, Father?"

"Jason," the old man replied with a crafty grin, rewarding his own deviousness with a sip of his white wine.

His son and daughter-in-law gaped at him. "What do you mean, she has Jason? Are they seeing each other?"

Jason almost groaned aloud when Edward's dangerous eyes began to glitter. "It appears that they are – or that they soon will be."

"How do you know this, Father? Jason takes care not to tell you anything."

"Oh, I know that, but the dear boy is slipping. Lila invited him and Nikolas to tea about two weeks ago and that was when I first came to be suspicious of the match."

"How so? What did he say?"

"We were discussing Emily's dog," the old man explained. "I mentioned that she wanted a new pet and that it was to be a Golden Retriever, adopted from the pound. Jason was quick to offer up some information about the dog…and the girl."

Alan and Monica exchanged quizzical glances. "Go on, Edward."

"He mentioned that she had a dog of the same breed, and that he had just seen them the day before. Nikolas inquired into it – saving me the trouble – and Jason said that he had been out when the animal appeared to get loose. Jason chased him down and returned the dog to Elizabeth."

"…And how does that mean anything?"

Edward's eyes were knowing and triumphant all at once. "When was the last time you heard Jason speak of a woman? In front of me?"

Both husband and wife looked at each other, the realization dawning on them. "But, Edward, what are you going to do with her?"

"First, I intend to see if my suspicions are true," the old man replied with a shrug. "If Jason sees her, talks to her, dances with her…well, then, we'll know I'm right. And that's when I'll move in. It will be a good way to…keep tabs on the boy, let's say that."

"Oh?"

"Certainly. We had good relationship with Keesha and Robin," Edward reminded them, "and it worked to our benefit. Thank goodness that horrible Brenda Barrett is no longer in the picture – we never did get on very well. But if we can secure Elizabeth, I'm sure the connection will prove quite profitable in the future."

Jason sighed to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn't good at all. No, this was a disaster. He had tried to be discreet during the garden party, but Nikolas wouldn't let things go and the seed of suspicion had already been planted in Edward's twisted mind. And if he thought that he and Elizabeth were an item…that would not mean good things for them in the future.

He stepped away from the large planter, all thoughts of escaping out onto the terrace gone now. He knew what he had to do – dispel Edward's suspicions. It was the only way to keep Elizabeth out of the messy snake-in-the-grass family politics that went on at ELQ; once she was in, there would be no way out for her. Edward would milk her for everything she was worth, and there was no way he was going to let that happen.

Carly glanced over her shoulder when she felt someone sidle up next to her and flashed the cute pianist a fleeting smile. "Hey, you, what's up?"

"Can we go now?"

"Already?"

"Yeah – can we go? Let's ditch this tomb and, I don't know, grab a bite and go shoe-shopping."

"Wait, wait, wait," Carly interrupted, setting her glass down on a server's tray and settling both hands on her sister's shoulders. "You _never _go shoe-shopping with me. When I ask you to, you tell me you're getting your leg tested for radon. What gives, Elle?"

She glanced sullenly at the other corner of the room then turned away, her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "Nothing. I just want to leave."

"Because…"

"Because the music sucks, the food sucks, and the people suck."

"Huh?"

"Um, first, who the hell likes easy-listening muzak? And what purpose does a harp serve, anyway, except to piss me off? And second, four words about the food: tiny portions, gross sauces. I don't like food that thinks it's better than me, Carly. And…"

"And the people?"

"The people suck."

"Aha," her sister murmured, watching as Elizabeth glanced away again and following her gaze. "Who was mean to you?"

"No one."

"Nuh-uh," she warned, looping her arm through the petite brunette's and taking a turn to look around the room. "Who was mean to you?"

"_No one_. I'm just tired, hungry, and these damn shoes are killing my feet."

"Woah, woah," the blonde interjected, holding up her hand. "Say what you want about the music, the food and the people but honey, do not – and I mean, do not – rip on the shoes."

Elizabeth glanced down at her feet, wiggling her toes. "Sorry."

"That's okay." Carly tossed her bangs out of her eyes and forced her sister to meet her gaze. "But, hey, Elle, what happened? What happened to getting Stefan drunk and taking pictures of him dancing with a lampshade on his head? What happened to teasing Nikolas about going skinny-dipping?"

"Carly…"

"No, I wanna know," she insisted, settling her hands on her hips. "A few hours ago, you were running around at my place all crazy about your dress and your hair and your makeup. You were so excited to come here and…meet up with your little date, although I don't know _why _anyone would feel anything but nausea at the prospect of having to meet up with your Mr. Big Fat Happy Sunshine Day Morgan. And now you want to leave? Come on, Elle, what happened?"

The petite brunette crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her full bottom lip in a sullen pout, looking away, and didn't offer any answers. Frowning, Carly blew her hair out of her eyes and scanned the room, looking for anyone that looked even the slightest bit guilty so that she could march over and ram her stiletto up their nose.

She saw Nikolas talking with Ned, then Luke with his arm draped around a profoundly uncomfortable Stefan's shoulder. Jax met her gaze and smiled hesitantly before turning back to Junior, no doubt discussing their secret love: the cranes in the harbor. Carly frowned, feeling Elle try to push her toward the door, and was about to oblige her sister when her hazel eyes connected with Jason Morgan's.

The connection held for a second before Jason looked away quickly, almost as if flinching from the contact. Edward stood next to him, a hand delicately placed between his shoulder blades, and appeared to be discussing ELQ business with the young man. Carly's lips tightened into a single red line; she knew what had gotten her sister so upset so suddenly.

"Is it Jason?" she asked, feeling her sister stop abruptly at the question. "It's Jason, isn't it?"

"Come on, let's just go, Carly."

"Oh, I knew it. I _knew _it. Tell me, what did that son of a bitch do? I told him to stay away from you but he couldn't get past his own I'm-Too-Sexy-For-My-Shirt ego to-"

"Carly, forget it. Let's just go."

"Fine," she acquiesced, digging her heels into the floor as Elizabeth tried to push her into the foyer. "On one condition."

The brunette sighed wearily, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "What?"

"You have to tell me what he did."

"And then we'll leave?"

"And then we'll leave."

"Scout's Honor?"

"I'll do you one better – pinky swear."

"Fine." Elizabeth blew a glossy ringlet out of her face and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "You want to know what Jason did? He basically confirmed everything you've said about him from day one. He's an arrogant, rude, self-centered tight-ass who isn't worth a second of my time. You were right all along, Carly – can we just go now?"

The blonde stood still as the petite brunette stormed off into the foyer, ready to call the launch and escape Wyndemere. Elle's words had surprised her – not only the venom, but the humiliation and sadness. If she didn't know better, she'd have to think that her best friend was deeply hurt by whatever it was that Jason did…as if he actually mattered to her, and more than she let on.

With a heavy, knowing sigh, Carly brushed imaginary dust off her dress and slowly turned on her heel, leaving the grand ballroom.


	11. Chapter 11

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**--Chapter Eleven--**

.:Port Charles Hotel, Fourth floor, Room 431, Kitchen:.

"See, I had a feeling that there was something going on between them."

"Oh, bravo, Columbo," Carly snipped, resisting the urge to biff her good friend upside the head. "Of course there was something going on!"

"Hey," Nikolas protested, scooting to the edge of the kitchen chair he occupied. "Look, it's easier for you girls to figure out when something's going on with one of your own – you have those girly nights where you all come over and do each other's hair and toes and order pizza and get into pillowfights and confess the secrets of your soul."

The tall blonde stared at him as if he had sprouted three heads before finally just shaking her head and resuming her pacing. "Nikolas, you're going to make one very lucky girl very…confused one day."

"All I'm saying is that Jason isn't exactly your _Dear Diary_ type of guy," the Prince pressed on. "He doesn't talk to anyone, and even though he does talk to me, he doesn't say much. And definitely not about women. I knew he liked Elle, but I didn't think it was…like this."

"Obviously, something happened at that party," Carly continued, pointing her finger at her friend. "Jason, for whatever reason, said something to Elle and she ran off convinced he was a grade-A asshole, the kind of thinking that I'm not entirely averse to, by the way-"

"_Carly_…"

"And according to you, Jason moped around for the rest of the party and left early. I know we're missing some of the pieces, but we have enough to do what we need to do."

"And what do we need to do, exactly?"

"We need to help Elle," Carly announced, bracing her palms flat against the countertop.

"Aha," Nikolas murmured, propping his chin up in his hand. "And how are we going to do that?"

"We're going to get her vaccinated!" the blonde beamed before quickly shaking her head. "No, no, okay, enough of that. I can't help her if I keep ripping on him, right? Damn. Anyway, what I meant was, we're going to get her and Jason to fix this."

"And how are we going to do that?"

She glared at the Prince, her lips pursed into a thin red line. "You are absolutely no help, you know that?"

"Hey, _you're _the visionary. I just follow procedure."

"Good point. Okay, how are we going to do this?" Carly ran her hands through her open mane, pacing around the small island where Nikolas sat. "Okay…okay…"

"Okay…"

"Shut up – you're not helping."

"Okay."

"Okay," she agreed, stopping to tap her nails on the wood. "Hey, are you sure Jason didn't say anything else after the party? I mean, I know you talked to him and he said he liked Elle…although what she did to deserve that curse, I'll never know…"

"Just what I told you. He was drinking on the terrace when I asked him why the hell he was out there instead of with Elle…"

"Such a people-person, that one," Carly snorted, dropping her elbows to the counter and using her hands to prop up her chin. "Go on."

"He said that she'd already gone home and wouldn't be coming back, and it was probably better for everyone in consideration that she didn't get too close."

"Woah, Silent Cal said all that?"

"Well, to be fair, he was kind of drunk at the time. He had already had a few glasses of Uncle's favorite cognac."

"Ooh, Elle's worth the hard stuff? Good for her. That's gotta be a first."

"Anyway," the Prince continued, glaring at his old friend. "I did my best to get him to talk, but he was in a terribly foul mood. He did say, though, that there was no way that he and Elle would work and that it was only a matter of time before this happened. They were just too different."

Carly's eyes darkened dangerously, a scowl marring her delicate features. "He said that? That asshole actually said that? Oh, wait until I get my claws into him."

"Wait a second, Carly, he didn't-"

"No," she spit back, holding up her hand. "No man has ever snubbed his nose at me or my sister and lived to tell about it. He wants to play the she's-beneath-me card, fine – he'd just better be ready to face the consequences. And by consequences, I mean…castration. Yeah. I did the same thing to that Richard Lansing jackass who tried to humiliate me before, and I have no problem doing it again for Elle's sake-"

"Carly! Will you just listen to me for a second?"

"What?"

"Jason didn't mean it that way," Nikolas struggled to clarify. "He'd never say anything like that about Elle – in fact, he even told me right there that it wasn't about their different social positions."

"Then what did he mean, that they wouldn't work out?"

"I don't know, to be honest. For a while I thought it was because he's so…set in his ways and she's so unpredictable. I mean, Jason doesn't like surprises and Elle is one big surprise, you know? But that didn't sound right, either. He kept saying something about her being used as a pawn."

"What the hell did he mean about that?" Carly wondered to herself. "But go on – what else happened on the terrace?"

"He pretty much spent most of his time cussing out the Quartermaines," Nikolas shrugged. "He was exceptionally clear about his feelings on Edward. Which makes sense, to be honest, because Edward's always tried to sabotage him personally while keeping tabs on him throughout his life, so…"

"Wait a minute," Carly interrupted. "Say that again."

"Say what again?"

"That stuff about Edward."

Nikolas looked at her strangely but obliged her request. "Edward's always trying to keep tabs on him – you know, find out who his friends are, where Jason hangs out, the women he sees. It's his way of trying to control him and keep him under his thumb because he knows that Jason won't come to him on his own and he needs a lackey like that in the boardroom. He did the same thing with Keesha and Robin, even Brenda; he tried to pull them over to his side so that they'd do the same with Jason."

"Oh, my God. Nikolas – you're a genius. That's it!"

"That's what?"

"Don't you get it?" Carly asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she leaned closer to her old friend. "You spelled it out right there. Jason's afraid that Elle's going to be used as a pawn, right?"

"Right…"

"Yeah, and whose pawn is she going to be?"

"…Edward's."

"Exactly," the blonde replied triumphantly. "And that's why he doesn't want her to get too close – because Edward's going to be on her like Elvis on a pack of bacon. Fat Elvis, not Elvis-circa-hotness-and-hip-gyrations."

"Got it. I'll make a mental note."

"Anyway…he doesn't want her to get too close to the ELQ side of things. And you know that's what's going to happen. Edward is going to use Elle anyway he can to have an 'in' when it comes to Jason. Eventually, he'll use it to drive a wedge between them until Elle's the one fighting all of Edward's fights with Jason. Not that I'm saying that she's stupid and she'll fall into it…"

"But Edward's a psychological terrorist and even Elle can't resist it forever," Nikolas finished, understanding. "That makes a lot of sense, Carly."

"Yeah – too bad it's stupid."

"Huh?"

"It's stupid," she repeated. "Jason's stupid."

Nikolas blinked at her, puzzled with her declaration. "But…Carly, you just said it yourself. Edward's going to use Elle and make her life Hell if he finds out that she and Jason are an item. She'll be dragged into the mire of ELQ politics, and you know as well as I do how terrible all that is. It wreaks _havoc _on the mind. Jason's just trying to protect her from that; don't you at least agree with him there?"

"No," Carly repeated stubbornly. "I still think he's stupid."

"But why?"

"Because that kind of game plan is just legally retarded," she explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world to understand. "What, he's so afraid of Edward trying to control his life that he's going to let Edward control his life?"

"What?"

"Okay, I'm going to try to use small words here," Carly started, holding up her hands. "Try to follow along, okay? Why is Jason so quiet and uptight around Edward?"

"…Because Edward wants to know what he's doing at all times and who he's seeing and who his friends are."

"Why?"

"Because Edward wants to use that information to his advantage in bringing Jason over to his side…or at least have something to hold over his head if he gets out of line and starts siding with you and Junior too often."

"Right," Carly agreed. "Now, what is he going to do since he found out that Edward's got his beady bug-eyes set on Elle?"

"…He's going to stay away from her," Nikolas started, beginning to understand what the neurotic blonde was getting at, "…effectively letting Edward control his life by limiting who he can and can't be with. Why didn't you just say that in the first place, Carly?"

She rolled her eyes, huffing _men _under her breath. "Okay, now that we know the details…let's work on fixing this. Or rather, getting Jason and Elle to fix it themselves."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"Well-" Carly's tentative plan was interrupted by the loud slam of the door and the next thing she knew, her stepsister was racing into the kitchen.

"Hi, Carly, Nik," she greeted them without even meeting their gaze as she darted over to the cabinet and pulled out a glass. "Jesus, it's as hot as Wesley out there! Where's the lemonade?"

"Right here," the Prince spoke up, handing the brunette the jug. "So, Elle-"

"Man, I'm parched," she interrupted, speaking a mile a minute as she poured herself a tall glass and began to down it rapidly. "Would you believe what Noodle did? He went rabbit hunting. That's right, rabbit hunting. He tore up the entire damn lawn trying to unearth their nest and I only found out about it when I got up, so here I am, chasing him around the lawn behind Jake's in my Gumby pajamas, looking like a total crazy person! I'm so sending him to the glue factory."

"Um…" Nikolas glanced at Carly who took a sip of her own pink lemonade without batting an eyelash. Apparently, this was nothing new for her. "Glue is made from horses, Elle, not dogs."

"I know that," she replied, now hunting through the refrigerator for something to munch. She found one of Carly's chocolate protein bars and quickly nabbed it, ignoring her sister's protests. "I'm not sending him there so that they can turn _him _into glue. That's inhumane. I'm sending him there because he hates glue. He ate a whole bottle of Elmer's once and got a real bad tummyache, and now he goes berserk if he sees it. I have to use rubber cement, nothing else, because the smell of rubber cement scares him so he won't come anywhere near it. They say dogs can't read, but he just has to see the _glue _stick, even, to know it's the same thing."

Nikolas blinked, then turned back to his sandwich. It was best to leave well enough alone.

"Where are you going, Elle?" Carly called out as her sister dumped her empty glass in the dishwasher and took off for the guest bedroom where she kept some of her stuff that she didn't want sitting around Jake's. But she didn't receive an answer, so she continued speaking anyway.

"Listen, I know I told you to go check out the loft on Maple, but I changed my mind. It's got terrible neighbors – some crack whore named Corky-"

"Or, Courtney, which is actually a female name?"

"Maybe - _Courtney _or something who doesn't bathe and apparently lives with a donkey. We're so not moving there, so don't bother going over, okay?"

"Okay!" came a yell from the bedroom as Elizabeth was heard thumping around in there.

"But," Carly continued, "I found an ad for a penthouse in Harborview Towers, and I drove by the place and liked the area. It's really great from the outside, and in a very convenient location. It's just a block or two from Kelly's, too, and the docks are right there. I called the owner and left a message, so I should be able to get in to see it pretty soon. If I like it, I'll send you over to see if there was something I missed, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Harborview Towers?" Nikolas asked, interested. "I know a few people who live there – that's a really great area, Carly. Pretty upscale, and definitely worth it."

"Yeah?"

Her friend nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking of getting a place there myself for when I was on land and didn't feel like taking the launch back to Wyndemere, but then I found the cottage and liked the secluded location, so I went with that. But it's a _great _place to live. How'd you find out about it?"

"Jason, actually," the blonde replied, tucking her hair behind her ears as Elle continued to thump around. "He knew that I was looking around and circled the ad for me and told me to check it out. Whatever he is, Jason Morgan definitely knows his stuff when it comes to this town."

"Jason Morgan?" came a harried voice from down the hall and Nikolas looked up just in time to see Elizabeth storm into the kitchen once more. She was wearing a pair of pale blue hip-huggers covered in paint spots and an _Ed Wood_ t-shirt with Johnny Depp's face plastered in front of the giant Hollywood letters in Los Angeles. Her hair, straight and sleek today, was pulled up into a bun and her bangs were pinned to the side.

"Who's talking about Jason Morgan?" she continued, taking off her blue tweed ballet flats and searching around for the extra sneakers she knew she kept at Carly's. "That asshole doesn't deserve the energy it takes to talk about him."

Carly quirked a brow at her old friend, then turned deliberately toward her sister. "Lemme guess – you saw him today."

"Unfortunately," came the answer as Elizabeth located the sneakers in the closet and flopped down on the floor to put them on. "I was running with Noodle and he was leaving Kelly's. Jerk."

"What happened? Did he say something?"

"No – he ignored me, I ignored him, it was all good." With a huff, Elizabeth pulled the laces as tight as she could, not caring that she was almost cutting off circulation to her feet. "Listen, I've gotta go – Lulu got a new armoire and wants me to help her paint it all boho-style. Do you need anything? I'm heading back to Jake's first and then the grocery store on my way back."

"Grab a six-pack for me?"

"Sure, whatever. Later, guys." With that, Elizabeth grabbed her tote bag and ran off, slamming the door behind her.

Carly sighed, her eyes lingering on the closed door before she slowly turned to her old friend. "Well, she's psychotic and he's painfully anti-social. A match made in Heaven."

**.:Luke's Bar:.**

Elizabeth Drake hobbled on one foot outside of the quiet bar, trying to get the little crack in the door open wide enough with her other foot so that she could squeak in. Three stacked cans of wood-safe paint obstructed her vision, and her tote bag weighed more than she did since she had crammed it full of her brushes.

"Come on," she muttered, applying force with her ankle in hopes of being able to kick the door open. "Just a little further…"

"Let me get that," came a familiar voice and the next thing Elizabeth knew, the front door was wide open and Jason Morgan had taken two large cans from her, allowing her to stare directly into his equally surprised eyes.

"No thanks," she replied coolly, switching one can to her hip in order to take the other two from his arms. "I'm doing just fine on my own."

"Elle," came a squeal behind the counter, and the brunette tore her eyes away from Jason's to see Lulu trotting toward the front door. "Yes! You're here! I can't wait to get started."

"Let's go," she smiled, stepping around Jason and handing Lulu the tote bag. The blonde accepted the bag and hefted it easily, grabbing one of the paint cans.

Elizabeth cleared her throat, feeling Jason instinctively reach out to help, but stepped just out of reach. Lulu looked at her strangely, then at Jason, and the brunette did her best to show that nothing was wrong. "Well, we gonna do this or what?"

"Yeah," the blonde answered hesitantly, still looking at Jason who stood nearby. "…Yeah, let's go. Dad set up a tarp out back, and Lucky and some of his friends are going to take it upstairs when it's dry. Thanks so much for doing this for me, Elle."

"What are friends for?" she asked easily, adjusting her grip on the two remaining paint cans and briskly following Lulu.

Jason sighed and watched her walk away, trying his best to tear his eyes from her slim figure and failing miserably. He couldn't help it if those jeans worked really well for her – and not bad for him, either. But then again, he had no right to look at her that way after how he treated her at the Bacchanalian Ball. If he just kept reminding himself that this was for the best, they'd all be okay.

Luke stood behind the counter, polishing glasses as the girls made their way toward the back door. When Jason looked over, the older man glared at him and tipped his head in Elizabeth's direction so hard that for a minute Jason thought he'd developed a violent tick. But when he realized what Luke was up to, he simply shook his head to himself and turned away, heading toward the pool tables once more where Max and Johnny were waiting and watching him curiously.

They said nothing as Jason picked up his cue, smoothing a hand over the red felt before lining up his next shot. There were two hundred and eighty dollars riding on this last ball; if he sank it, he won and if he didn't he was out almost three hundred bucks.

He let out a sigh and bent lower, carefully lining up his cue. If he were honest with himself, he'd admit that his reason for backing away from Elizabeth wasn't only because he wanted to protect her from Edward's mind games and the poisonous politics at ELQ.

Elizabeth Drake was a very strange girl. He couldn't say that he ever met anyone like her. She was younger than he was, and quite the free spirit. She dressed any way she pleased, alternating between punk princess and a man-eater in her camisole-free suit ensembles. She was very rarely punctual, she didn't care what people thought of her, and she was very hands-on in almost every aspect of her life, it seemed.

He, on the other hand, was entirely the opposite. He liked schedules. He liked timetables. He liked being in control all the time. And he liked all of those things so much only because he hated surprises _that _much. Knowledge had always been power to him; if he knew about it, he'd know how to act accordingly when the time arrived. Surprises were dangerous, debilitating. Surprises exposed weakness, and that was a word he never associated with himself when he could help it.

But Elizabeth was just one big surprise to him. There were times when he could sense impatience and even thinly veiled disdain from her regarding himself. But there were other times when she showed herself to be among the warmest and most compassionate women he knew.

The change in demeanor was puzzling to him, but she revealed pieces of the puzzle as they went along. For example, he had initially misconstrued her anger over his sudden and unannounced appearance at Jake's that one night for vanity and a misguided sense of independence. But as he came to know her, he learned that she had dealt with many men in the past who belittled her efforts and her hard work – either intentionally or unintentionally like Luke with his break-a-nail comment - simply because she was a young woman, and she wasn't about to stand for it.

But the biggest surprise of all was how much he genuinely liked her…and how quickly it all started. It took him forever to let a relationship progress: there were steps he followed, each one carefully planned and orchestrated. But Elizabeth was a whirlwind; he highly doubted that any one of his plans would stand on its own with her around. She had bounded into his life dressed like a college student living in her parents' basement and run circles around him, keeping him intrigued and guessing.

The chase, while invigorating and even a turn-on, also left him disoriented and confused. She didn't behave anything like he expected women to behave, and he wasn't used to the constant feeling of having to wonder what she was up to.

He pursed his lips, hearing Max and Johnny grow restless as he took his time perfecting the shot. Maybe it was fear that provided further incentive to keep Elizabeth at arm's length; maybe he was a coward for behaving this way. But at the moment, he didn't know what to do so his current plan would just have to suffice. After all, plans offered him stability and certainty, two things that Elizabeth seemed to thrive on taking away from those she was around.

Letting out a heavy, strained breath, Jason pulled back and orchestrated the shot, intending to send the eight ball in the corner pocket. The sharp crack echoed in the still bar, and the pool cue hit the table with a dull thud as Johnny triumphantly picked up his winnings.

**.:Outside Harborview Towers, En Route To Kelly's:.**

"Fabulous," Carly beamed, clapping her hands as she and Nikolas walked toward the parking lot on Elm Street that stood between them and Kelly's diner. "Absolutely fabulous!"

"It's a great penthouse, Carly," Nikolas agreed, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pressed trousers. "You'd be crazy not to lease it."

"Actually, I was talking about the landlord, but the penthouse isn't bad, either," the blonde replied, her hazel eyes twinkling as the Prince rolled his eyes. "Tall, dark, and handsome – and the dimples are just a fringe benefit!"

"Wall-to-wall, brand new appliances, and a great view," Nikolas reminded her, interrupting her daydreams of her suave, dimpled potential neighbor. "And Elle's going to fall in love with the closets."

"Speaking of Elle," Carly interjected, looping her arm through her old friend's as they stepped onto the pavement. "I cleared the last details of our plan, and we're all set."

"That easily?" the Prince asked, surprised. "When are you going to tell Elle?"

"It depends," she answered. "I have to find a day where both she and Jason are free around the same time. And the penthouse will be open whenever I make the call – I made sure that-"

"Carly."

The pair looked over to see Jason walking toward his car, unlocking it with his automated key. Quirking an excited glance at her friend, the tall blonde pulled Nikolas over to the black Mercedes.

"What do you want, Morgan?"

"I have something for you," came the bland answer as Jason pulled open the driver's side door and depressed the seat, scrounging around in the back.

"Oh," she replied, slightly confused but forging ahead anyway. "Hey, guess where we were – Harborview Towers! We just saw my new penthouse."

"You signed the lease already?"

"Well, no," Carly huffed impatiently, "but it's as good as done. Just one or two more things need to be done, and then I'm moving in. Hey, what's that?"

Jason licked his lips, holding out a pair of neatly folded blue jeans. The blonde accepted them after a moment's befuddled stare, fingering them before realizing who the pair belonged to. "…These are Elle's."

The businessman shifted awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "She left them in the car," he replied quietly, straightening the seat. "Give them to her for me."

With that, he slid into his seat and closed the door, rolling down the windows as Nikolas pulled Carly away to the sidewalk once more. The blonde unfolded and refolded the jeans in her arms as they resumed their walk toward Kelly's.

"…And those are the two idiots we're supposed to help," she groused, stuffing the rolled up jeans under arm.


	12. Chapter 12

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**--Chapter 12--**

.:ELQ, Main Lobby:.

He had felt his phone buzz during the meeting that Edward had requested and as Jason Morgan hurried out of the elevator, relieved to be done with the calculating old man for the afternoon, he pulled it out of his pocket to see who had been in need of his services.

The number flashing on the screen was mildly surprising, but he found himself getting more and more used to the occurrence. The voicemail message began to play as he walked past the receptionists' desk and headed straight for the revolving doors.

_"Morgan, it's me, Carly. I have a huge favor to ask. You know the penthouse you pointed out in the newspaper? I already checked it out once but I'm honest enough to admit that I don't know much about that stuff, so I was wondering if you could swing by and talk to the landlord and check out the figures and all that stuff to make sure no one's trying to rob me blind. I tried to get a hold of Junior, but he's in Washington for the week and Nikolas is tied up with Cassidine stuff on the island, so you're my last resort. The appointment is this evening at six o'clock; the landlord should be there but even if he's running late, he promised to leave it open for you. If you do this for me, I promise not to call you Moneybags anymore…to your face. Thanks."_

He rolled his eyes and slipped the phone back into his pocket, pulling out his keys. He had enough time to grab a really late lunch and take care of some errands and still make it in time to inspect Carly's new place.

**.:Jake's, Roof:.**

Elizabeth Drake brushed the dirt and debris off of her handiwork-jeans and surveyed the roof one last time. She had spent all afternoon re-inspecting her work from the previous week after a dream the night before where the entire damn place collapsed on her while she was singing an operetta in the shower dressed like Lamb Chop. The whole thing had been pretty silly, to be sure, but not silly enough to prevent her from scurrying up to the rooftop as soon as she had a spare chunk of time.

But everything appeared to be in order and the petite brunette made quick work of dumping her tools back into her sparkly red toolbox with the Grateful Dead stickers and closing the latch. Her phone was sitting attached to the toolbox by her lanyard and she quickly untied it when she saw that she had missed a message. Hoping that it was at least from the previous forty-eight hours, she flipped to her voicemail and waited for it to play.

_"Hey, Elle, it's me. Guess what? I found the most perfect place ever for us! It's this gorgeous little penthouse in Harborview Towers, with an even more gorgeous landlord! Anyway, I wanted you to check it out – it's number 2 on the fourth floor, and be sure to show up at exactly ten after six tonight, okay? And if you run into the landlord…you'd better not hit on him, because he's mine. Mine. His name is Sonny Corinthos and holy Hell, Elle, you're going to kill me for even thinking this, but he's even hotter than Westley. Dark hair, olive skin, these ultra-cute dimples…Oh, hold on, he's standing, like, three feet away from me. Gotta go. Remember – be there! Six-ten tonight! Love ya, Elle."_

Smirking to herself, Elizabeth flipped her phone shut and tied it to her belt loop before grabbing her toolbox and making her way over to the ladder resting against the side wall of Jake's. She had just enough time to shower and grab an iced coffee before swinging by Harborview Towers to check out her and Carly's new digs.

**.:Harborview Towers, Fourth Floor, Penthouse II:.**

"Hello, you must be Elle," a well-dressed, dark-haired man who could only be Sonny Corinthos greeted her as she stepped off the elevator. "I'm Michael Corinthos, but everyone calls me Sonny. I've heard so much about you."

Elizabeth smiled graciously and shook his hand, taking a quick glance at his watch and feeling relieved at having made it at exactly quarter after six. It had been a bit of a workout, but she made it almost on time. "Good things, I hope," she joked, allowing Sonny to lead her toward the penthouse. "With my sister, you never can tell."

The Cuban laughed and quietly slipped his key into the lock, turning it so that it didn't make much noise. "Oh, excellent things. Things like, you're an artist, a musician, you run Jake's, and you love wall-to-wall, a great view, and spacious closets."

The brunette grinned, stepping inside when he held the door for her. "Oh, yeah, that's true. From what Carly's already told me, I'm sure I'm going to love—Sonny?"

She frowned, whipping around when she heard the door shut behind her, the click echoing in the large empty room with a tone of finality. "Hey-"

A rusty chuckle could be heard outside and the next thing she knew, she heard the clicking of a lock…an external lock…and something being wedged under the doorknob just in case.

"What the hell-" She'd been locked into her prospective new pad by the creepy landlord. Great – this was just great. And as if the situation couldn't get any worse, Elizabeth soon realized that she wasn't alone.

"Elizabeth?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, her lips pursing into a thin red line. "…Jason."

"What the hell just happened?" he demanded, marching over from where he had been inspecting the mantle. Elizabeth watched reluctantly as he tried the knob, jerking it hard but finding it of no use due to the very impractical external lock. "Did he just lock us in here?"

"What are you doing here?" she interrupted his escape efforts as he tugged on the door.

"Carly – called – told me to – check this place out," he grunted, looking as if he was about to tear the door off its hinges in his haste to get away from her. "Let me guess…she did the same thing to you."

Elizabeth huffed, pressing her fingertips to her temple and hoping that if she held her breath long enough, this whole thing would go away. "When we get out of here, I'm so setting fire to her shoe closet. What's a little arson between sisters?"

Jason was still staring at the door and heaved a heavy sigh, knowing that trying to get out was of no use. And as luck would have it, he'd left his cell phone and his briefcase in his car, which was locked and tucked neatly away in the heated private garage that Harborview Towers also boasted. In his defense, he figured that it would only take him fifteen, twenty minutes, tops, to check the place out and go over the details with the landlord.

He ran a hand through his hair, still eyeing the doorknob before turning around to face his companion. As usual, it took him a few minutes to get over himself when it came to her outfit. Elizabeth Drake was dressed in a pair of cargo green knickers that fit her extremely well with a matching low-cut vest with flirty cap sleeves. Her hair was down and straight, and a pair of high-heeled green sandals completed the look while emphasizing her shapely calves.

She cleared her throat, aware of his staring and not particularly flattered. Jason shook himself out of it and glanced at the doorknob, knowing that even if he were to ask her for one of her bobby pins it would do no good because the knob wasn't the problem: the ball-and-chain mechanism two inches from the top of the door was.

"Do you have your phone with you?" he asked, hoping beyond hope that she hadn't dropped it in a sewer on her way over or let it fall in the hedges again.

Her brows furrowed as she began to hunt through her hemp purse, pulling out all sorts of odds and ends that he didn't even waste time trying to distinguish. Frustrated, she plopped down on the carpeted floor, Indian-style, and dumped out all the contents before rooting through them like a child in search of a plaything.

He knew before she did that her phone was indeed missing. Elizabeth clapped a forehead to her hand, suddenly remembering where she had left it. "It's in the washing machine!"

Jason blinked, not sure he had heard right. "It's _where_?"

"In the washing machine," she repeated, frustrated. "I was on the roof and I had it tied to my belt loop and then I came down and changed to come here and I threw my jeans in the wash so I'd remember to run a load of laundry later when I got back and…it's in the damn washing machine."

He sighed, knowing it had been a stretch at best, and moved back toward the door. Elizabeth watched blandly as he tried the door again, pounding on it and issuing a few obscenities toward the landlord who by now was probably having celebratory drinks with Carly.

"Give it a rest, Fred," she sighed, dumping her things back into her purse. "Wilma ain't coming."

"Huh?"

"…Never mind," Elizabeth muttered, standing up and adjusting her knickers. She stood still for a moment and was about to head for the mantle when she thought better of it and removed her shoes first, walking over to a corner to set them down.

She saw Jason quirk a questioning gaze her way before reluctantly bending down to untie his black calfskin shoes. "It'd be a shame to ruin the carpet," she replied absently, dropping her purse in the same corner with her shoes.

"Step in that same puddle of beer three times again?" he asked dryly, taking off his jacket and looking around for some place to hang it. Finding nothing and suddenly realizing that he didn't care, Jason tossed it aside to land near his shoes and undid the top two buttons of his shirt.

"No," the little sprite replied witheringly. "…I stepped in drying mud when I was running through the park on my way over."

"Why were you running through the park in heels?" Jason asked, wondering if he'd ever understand anything the little woman did.

"I wasn't running of my own choice," she huffed, crossing her arms at her waist and turning her back to him as she surveyed the penthouse. "…I was being chased."

"By who?"

His anxiety gave way to relief and mild amusement when she sighed, her shoulders slumping before she reluctantly offered a reply. "Squirrels. A whole gang of them."

"Damn kamikaze rodents."

That made her smile until she remembered how much she disliked Jason Morgan as of a few nights ago. She waited a minute to compose herself and then resumed looking around the penthouse.

It was actually quite nice. The kitchen was very spacious and led into a huge laundry room with a brand new washer-dryer set. The dining room was joined to the living room where the large mantle and fireplace took up most of the space. The rooms upstairs were nice, also. There was a very large master bedroom with a closet large enough to hold all of Carly's shoes, as Herculean a feat as that was. The other two bedrooms were spacious as well and would do quite nicely for her stuff. And whatever didn't fit would just stay at Jake's in the tiny office rooms upstairs. The bathrooms were outfitted with Jacuzzis, which Elizabeth was a big fan of, and there were two extra rooms that Elizabeth knew Carly would want to turn into an exercise room and an office. The exercise room would become a studio, though, if she had anything to say about it.

Downstairs, Jason could hear Elizabeth move from one room to the other. With a heavy sigh, he raked a hand through his hair and cursed the blonde viper he had made the mistake of calling an almost-friend. If Carly knew what was best for everyone, she'd leave him and Elizabeth alone instead of trying to play matchmaker. What made the situation even more confusing was that he knew Carly didn't want him and her stepsister together simply because she thought they couldn't stand each other.

Realizing that he'd never be able to figure those two women out, Jason decided to stop trying as he moved toward the balcony doors, drawn by the setting sun. The view really was nice, and he was sure that it would inspire Elizabeth's artistic muse.

The summer breeze rustled gently through the nearby trees, and a flapping noise soon caught his attention. There, taped to the balcony banister, was a folded up piece of yellow paper.

Curious, Jason picked it off the wood and unfolded it carefully, mildly surprised to see that it was from his arch-nemesis herself.

_Hey kids,_

_There's plenty of food and a six-pack or two stocked in the refrigerator and there are some blankets in the front closet. Sonny also left some wood and a poker in the kitchen cabinets. And don't waste time trying to escape – there's a doorman posted in the hall to make sure no one gets in or out. So grab a beer, start a fire, and get cozy! Also, you both owe me big for this. I'm thinking…shoes. Nikolas doesn't want anything; that idiot is doing this out of the goodness of his jewel-encrusted heart. We have so much to teach him about the world._

_Love (only to Elle, though; Jason, you can go choke),  
Carly and Nikolas_

He swore under his breath and resisted the urge to crumple the note up and toss it away. Instead, Jason stepped off the balcony and leaned against the doorjamb, looking around the empty penthouse in bewilderment as his houseguest continued to squeal about closets.

Those two idiots thought they were doing them a favor. A muscle in his jaw ticked as Jason refolded the note, creasing it hard with his fingernails, already planning on how to repay their 'generosity'. He absently dropped the note on the mantle, slipping his hands into his pockets as he roamed the large room, still thinking.

Elizabeth hopped down the stairs, skipping the last two and taking a leap to the bottom. She wore a beaming grin and there was excitement written all over her face but as soon as she saw her companion once more, the need to gush fled away and she quickly sobered up.

"Do you think there's any food here?" she asked reluctantly, feeling her stomach growl.

"I'll check," Jason offered hurriedly, already on his way to the kitchen.

Shrugging at his abrupt departure, Elizabeth tucked her open hair behind her ears and continued exploring. Someone had professionally cleaned the carpet because she couldn't find a stray dust bunny or spot. The fireplace was also recently cleaned and even stocked with fresh wood in case someone wanted to start a fire. The mantle, however, was another story. It was coated in a fine layer of dust and Elizabeth frowned as she ran her finger over it. Someone had also left out a can of bug spray, which she found horrible since the cartoon spiders on the bottle had as much a right to live as anyone.

She picked up the can of spray, intending to stuff it away in a cabinet before Jason found it and went on a killing spree, but spied a piece of paper underneath. Curious now, she pulled it down and quickly unfolded it to see her sister's feminine scrawl.

Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh when she finished reading it, the bug spray instantly forgotten and replaced on the mantle. Her sister was an idiot. A complete idiot. Her intentions were good, but she had apparently never heard of the road to Hell. She'd be finding all of her Foo Fighters CDs in the oven very soon if she had anything to say about it.

"There are sandwiches and beer in the fridge," she heard Jason mumble from the kitchen, and Elizabeth instantly folded up the note and stuck it in her bra, not wanting Jason to see it. She replaced the can of bug spray where she had found it and casually wandered over to the closet by the front door as Jason appeared with sandwiches and frosty bottles in hand.

"Oh, look," she exclaimed, feigning surprise as she pulled the door open. "Someone left blankets in here. That's handy."

Jason didn't say anything as she tugged one down and spread it in the middle of the living room for them to eat on. Dinner was a quiet affair; a painfully quiet affair. Jason sat on one end of the blanket with his food and Elizabeth sat at the opposite end, and the two of them did their best not to look at each other the whole time.

He finished his sandwich first and calmly sipped his beer as he waited for her to be done. As soon as she was, Jason hastily stood and collected the paper products, quickly taking hers as well and disappeared into the kitchen to find some way to dispose of them.

Elizabeth waited patiently as he hid out in the kitchen, playing with the ends of her hair as she counted the dots on the ceiling. The silence had been almost unbearable while they ate, and the whole situation was really beginning to bug her. Jason acted as if nothing had happened; he was as rigidly polite as he ever was. And that just wasn't right, considering what had happened at the disastrous Bacchanalian Ball. She wasn't about to let him get away with that any time soon, either.

Finally, he reappeared and reluctantly shuffled back into the main room. This time, though, Jason remained standing by the balcony and looking out at the rest of Port Charles with the sparkling harbor twinkling in the background.

"So I guess your manners are reserved for intimate gatherings, huh?" she asked casually, pulling her knees up against her chest and casually resting her hands there.

He looked at her strangely and glared when he understood what she meant.

"I mean, I guess I can kind of understand that," Elizabeth continued, tapping her finger thoughtfully against her chin. "I mean, in small gatherings, any rudeness is contained and just a game of he-said-she-said, anyway. In larger groups, like at balls and such, you have to really watch out or you might piss off the wrong people. And no one wants that."

"Just when I was thinking about how nice and quiet it was in here…" he muttered, still staring out at the town.

"Sorry to disappoint," she snipped back, resting her palms on the blanket behind her and leaning back comfortably. "I'm good at that, you know. Disappointing, that is. It comes really easily for me, actually – that's why Carly was kind of worried when I agreed to come to the Bacchanalian with her. I mean, stiffing Stefan three islands and a couple of jewels is one thing, but she was worried that I'd tell your best friend where to stick it, and that would make her job even more difficult."

Jason looked at her blandly, not at all following what she was babbling about. "My best friend?"

"Edward Quartermaine," came the instant reply. "I mean, you kiss his ass often enough, which is surprising considering how much you pretend to dislike him."

"I don't pretend."

"I disagree," Elizabeth quipped, running a hand through her long chestnut mane and barely noticing how his eyes followed the suggestive movement. "I think you've got the Mr. Darcy act down pat."

"Mr. Darcy?"

"Oh, come on, think back to high school, Morgan."

"I _know _who Mr. Darcy is," came the frustrated grunt. "I have a sister. What I don't know is what the hell you think you're talking about."

"If you know who Mr. Darcy is, then you're familiar with the persona, which you have to be because you embody it so well. The seemingly arrogant, terse, proper rich guy who's actually just shy and is a really fabulous person after all. I have to admit, it's really a great scam you're running here, Morgan."

"I'm not running any scam," he persisted, all the while wondering why he was allowing her to rope him into an argument yet again. "Ever think that maybe you're just paranoid?"

"Oh, I'm a lot of things, Jason," Elizabeth replied proudly. "I'm artistic, I'm kind of flighty, I'm independent, I'm very up on my pop culture references, and I'm super pissed off at-"

"-At me."

"-at _myself _for thinking that you were a decent guy when it's clear that you're just a world-class jackass," she finished, her blazing sapphire eyes boring lethally into his. "I can't believe I ever thought any different."

"Glad to set you straight," he muttered, turning around once more and resuming his study of the quiet town.

She gaped at him, stunned that he had nothing else to say for his callous behavior. Huffing to herself, she turned around on the seat of her pants so that her back was toward him and began staring hard at the closed – and locked – door that stood between her and freedom.

"Edward Quartermaine can have you," she muttered under her breath. "You're practically twins, anyway."

That got his attention right away and Jason stood upright instantly at the near-blasphemous statement. "What?"

"Nothing," came the reply.

But Jason was already stomping over to the blanket, the cuffs of his pressed dress pants dragging slightly on the carpet. "No – What did you say?"

"I said Edward can have you," she snipped petulantly. "You're identical in every way, anyway."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

With a huff, Elizabeth turned around on her seat and glared up at him, motioning to the blanket. "Ooh, big man, standing six feet over my head. What, you afraid to wrinkle your fancy pants, Morgan? Sit down."

He scowled but did as she told him until they sat facing each other on the cream-colored blanket. Elizabeth scowled back, refusing to be intimidated by him. "You know, I know Edward. I know what he's like, thanks to Carly. He gave her Hell when she first accepted her position on the board. She was young, she was a woman, and worst of all, she didn't come from money."

Jason stared at her, his eyes bland and bored as he waited for her to stumble upon her point.

"He'd belittle all of her suggestions whether they were any good or not, he'd sabotage her personal relationships, he'd try to keep tabs on her at all times so that he'd have something to hang over her head," she continued, getting more and more frustrated with each word.

"He'd make her feel like she didn't count, and he'd treat her with as much passive disrespect as possible," Elizabeth added. "And you're the same way – as far as the derision and passive-aggression goes. I don't know why what happened at the Bacchanalian surprised me, but it did. Because I never thought that you were like that. I mean, I knew that you were a rigid, stuffy tightass who-"

Jason glowered at her, not liking the turn this conversation was taking. "I'm not-"

But Elizabeth wasn't done. "You know what surprises me the most? That you're not even ashamed of what you did!"

He let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt you-"

"No, I don't think you are," she disagreed. "I think that for whatever reason, you meant to do what you did. You meant to avoid me for as long as you could. You meant to be cold and stand-off-ish when I tried to talk to you. You meant to let Edward come up and go all Spanish Inquisition on my butt about the horrible, depraved rat hole that I was letting his underage granddaughter step into."

"I told him that you didn't serve-"

"You meant to let him tear down art and music in general as complete wastes of time," the seething brunette continued, not stopping for a breath. "And you _meant _to let him dismiss me in his typical, snobby, head-up-his-ass way because I wasn't important to him in a social or fiscal way. You meant to do all of that – when you had already agreed to go to the ball with me. Boy, you must have enjoyed it. You and your pals must have laughed your asses off after I left the bar – gone on and on about how fun it would be to put Elle Drake in her place."

"It's not like that," he cut in, his voice tight and lethal. "I wasn't trying to humiliate you."

"Well, I'm lucky enough that I don't give a shit even if you were," she replied coolly. "What I'm more upset about is being blind-sided. I've thought about it and thought about it, but I can't figure out what the hell it was all for. Who knows – maybe you were just trying to get on Edward's good side. Kiss-ass."

"What the hell would I want to get on Edward's good side for?" he responded hotly, scowling at her. "I can't stand him. I can't stand him, my father couldn't stand him, and my grandfather sure as hell couldn't stand him! He has nothing I want, nothing I need, so why would I waste my time with him?"

"You tell me," came the casual reply as Elizabeth flipped her hair over her shoulder. "He stuck pretty close to you all night – you two must have been up to something."

That only made his frown deepen. "Edward _always _sticks pretty close to me."

The brunette stopped, remembering that it was the truth. Jason had always told her that Edward liked to stay near him and watched his every move like a hawk. She remained silent for a good moment and Jason grew increasingly uneasy, especially when he saw her eyes gleam with a knowing look.

"Oh, my God," she muttered, her lips twitching into a half-smile. "I get it now. It all makes sense."

He scowled at the infuriating brunette, not liking being out of the loop. "What does?"

"I get it," she chuckled to herself. "Oh, man, I get it."

"Get what?"

"I get why you were such an asshole," she beamed, her eyes dancing in the pink light of the setting sun.

Jason frowned. "I told you, I'm not interested in-"

"It was Edward," she interrupted, grinning openly now. "It was Edward all along. Oh, man, why didn't I listen to Carly? She's the one that told me no matter what, it's always Edward."

"What's always Edward?"

"Fine, Jason, if you're going to be dense, I'll spell it out for you," Elizabeth offered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Although this is probably going to be more painful for you and your Goliath-size-ego. You stayed away from me at the Bacchanalian Ball even though we had a date because of Edward."

"I don't do anything because of Edward," came the indignantly growled reply.

"I disagree," she responded instantly. "I think you do a ton of stuff because of Edward – whether you know it or not."

Jason didn't like the sound of that at all. "Edward Quartermaine doesn't control what I do."

"Really," she drawled, playing with a lock of her hair and not realizing how distracting the movement was from his standpoint. "Because I think that you passed up a chance to have a fabulous time with an even more _fabulous _girl just because you were afraid of what Edward would do."

Her ability to pinpoint his motives had him speechless for a moment. "I wasn't afraid-"

"You were terrified," she interjected, also not realizing how annoying that was starting to become. "You knew that he'd hone in on us immediately and get to work trying to perform a lobotomy on me so that I'd support him on whatever ELQ crap you two disagreed about so that I'd fight his battles for him, or whatever else he had planned. It's been the same way with Carly and Jax – I've seen it. And because you didn't want Edward to control you like that…you let him control you like that."

Jason scowled, hating how she had dissected what had been a very complicated decision so quickly and so easily. "Edward has nothing to do with this."

"With what?" she feigned, batting her lashes innocently.

"With _us_," he growled, more than frustrated with her antics now.

"But, Jason," she got out, her eyes as wide as saucers. "I wasn't even aware there was an us."

He rolled his eyes, wondering why she always made him want to slam his fist through something. "You know what I mean."

"Not really."

It took a long, cleansing breath to calm him down enough to reply. She was right – this would be painful for him, no thanks to her. "I…When I met you, I thought that…there might be something worth exploring there."

"Funny," she smirked, the picture of innocence. "When I met you, I thought you were a total ape."

He glared at her, further irritated by her knowing smirk. "You're not like any other woman I've ever met, Elizabeth. I wanted to get to know you until…"

"Until?"

"Until I figured out that we wouldn't work," he replied simply, hating that he had to say this to her but knowing it was the only way to end things. "We're too different."

"You're a little country, I'm a little rock-and-roll," she sang out, chuckling to herself.

Jason looked blandly at her, telling her in that single glare that he was serious. "It wouldn't work, that's all. And it's better that we figure that out now than later when we're both too in this to-"

"Oh, man, you like me," she smirked, her glossed lips curving upward into a wicked grin. "You _really _like me."

He let out a huff, completely exasperated with her antics. "Are you always this self-confident?"

"Yes," came the irritating answer.

Jason rolled his eyes, not sure how to best get through to her. "If we went ahead and…and…started seeing each other-"

"Then we'd wind up married and have lots of babies," she announced, her smirk slipping away when she saw his complexion turn a few shades paler. "Oh, relax, Morgan – I was just kidding. I only want two."

She was still laughing by the time he figured out that she was once again joking. Running a hand through his hair, Jason tried to assess how to best talk to her so she'd listen. "You wouldn't want someone like me, Elizabeth."

To her credit and his surprise, the outspoken little sprite remained quiet at that statement, watching him with amusement and genuine curiosity mingling in her expressive sapphire orbs.

Pursing his lips together, Jason struggled to continue. He hated having conversations like this because he wasn't any good at it, and Elizabeth had already made it clear that she wasn't going to do the talking for him.

"I don't talk much, I don't like music and I don't know how to dance, I don't go out much, I'm obsessed with my work, I plan everything out to the last detail, I hate surprises, I'm stubborn, my priorities are constantly-"

Elizabeth was smirking to herself while he talked and slowly lifted herself up off the blanket and scooted forward, climbing into his lap as he sat cross-legged on the floor and cutting his words off with her mouth.

Jason's eyes widened as she pressed her lips to his, teasingly at first, then harder. Her arms were around his neck, her fingers skimming underneath the collar of his pressed dress shirt before moving higher to play with the golden hairs at the nape of his neck.

The touch was electric and Jason could only sit still as she cuddled closer, tracing the line between his lips with her velvety tongue before quickly slipping it into his mouth. She offered him only a brief, fleeting taste of her sweetness before she pulled back enough to look smugly into his stunned cerulean orbs.

"Did you like _that _surprise?"


	13. Chapter 13

Prompt - Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk

**--Chapter 13 .:. NC/17--**

He stared at her in silence for so long that Elizabeth was beginning to wonder if he actually _didn't _like that kind of surprise. Just when she was about to crawl off his lap and into a hole to die, Jason's strong arms closed gently around her waist as he pulled her down to him.

This time, his hand slipped underneath her curtain of soft chestnut hair, finding the base of her neck and grasping it gently so that he could control the pressure of the kiss. Her fingers trailed from his shoulder down his chest, stopping at the very last button before the dark blue oxford disappeared under his trousers.

His lips whispered over hers as he situated her more comfortably in his arms and Elizabeth inhaled his purely masculine scent deeply. Jason's lips caressed hers, at once gentle and firmly in command. He didn't request a response; he demanded it. And she found herself giving in with complete abandon.

His large hand moved up and down her back in a slow, torturous rhythm, encouraging her closer as their lips coupled. Jason pulled back long enough for her to suck in a quick breath of air before Elizabeth clenched his collar and pulled him right back to her. He swept her dark hair back, away from her face, and fisted his hand in her chestnut locks.

She was already dizzy by the time Jason deepened the kiss. His tongue swept over her bottom lip hesitantly before he sank his teeth into the plush flesh, nipping it and then tugging firmly. Elizabeth gasped and cupped his jaw, her mouth already open and waiting to receive him.

Jason growled low in his throat, ready to move in for the kill. His tongue slithered into her mouth without further preamble, instantly engaging hers in a sensuous duel. She mewed under his ministrations, surging against him and feeling delicious warmth spread through her body.

His hand hovered at her jaw before moving down over the silky skin of her neck. Elizabeth purred when his rough palm brushed lightly against the side of her breast through her olive green vest-shirt, on its way to her waist. Once there, he situated her more comfortably in his lap before letting his fingers slip under her shirt to her flushed and heated skin.

Unable to sit still for long without taking a more proactive role, Elizabeth was already at work popping the buttons of his crisp oxford shirt. The dark blue cotton clung to the hard planes of his chest and brought out his piercing eyes in incredible ways, but she still wanted it off in the worst possible way.

Jason growled as she finished up with the buttons and pulled the shirt roughly out of the waistband of his trousers. He slanted his mouth over hers with bruising force as the brunette peeled the cotton off his broad shoulders and shoved it down, having some trouble with the cuffs. He clasped his hands behind her back and quickly undid the cuffs himself before shrugging out of the oppressive shirt.

She let out a satisfied purr, her tongue still mating with his as she ran her fingers freely down his chest and over his washboard abs. For a man that seemed to do nothing but go over accounts in his cushy corner office, Jason Morgan was in _excellent _shape.

He enjoyed her ministrations and even encouraged them, seeking the zipper at the nape of her neck as her artistically inclined digits danced across his lower abdomen. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, tugging it lower to his trousers where he pressed it hard against his erection, letting her feel his burgeoning arousal.

Elizabeth gasped, giving him an opportunity to delve deeper into her mouth at the same time that Jason found her zipper and lowered it as far as it would go. She shivered when she felt his rough palm skim the silky skin of her back before teasingly snapping the strap of her bra. Encouraged now by his boldness, she took his cue to ease open the snap of his trousers and managed to lower the zipper over his increasingly engorged shaft.

Impatient now as her fingernails raked over him through his boxer-briefs, Jason's fingers moved to the hem of her shirt-vest and he tugged the olive green fabric up, whisking it easily over her narrow shoulders and sending it sailing to the floor.

Elizabeth let out a low moan as his lips moved to the column of her throat. It was a somewhat awkward angle given their sitting position, but the man knew how to do amazing things with his mouth and she certainly wasn't about to complain. His large, rough hand sought out her pert breast and he molded the soft flesh to the inside of his palm, rubbing her through the silk bra. But his fingers soon came in contact with a crisp square folded there and Jason pulled back long enough from marking her throat to pluck out a yellow note that she had tucked into her bra earlier.

She blushed when he wagged it in front of her, recognizing Carly's note and knowing from the amused glimmer in his unearthly blue eyes that he had somehow already seen the contents. "Whoops – did I forget to show you that?"

Jason snickered and tossed the paper over his shoulder, forgetting it as soon as it left his fingers. Instead, he turned his attention back to her milky breasts that now strained against the silky fabric of her bra. The brunette arched her back when he cupped her roughly, pushing the heaving mounds further into his hand in blatant offering.

Jason accepted her without a hint of hesitation and strummed her forcibly, encouraging her lusty moans by nipping at the marble column of her throat. He tweaked her between his thumb and forefinger, splaying one hand at the small of her back and preparing to lower her down onto the blanket.

Elizabeth wound her arms around his neck, moving with him when he shifted and gently lowered her until her back hit the soft blanket. His legs were on either side of hers and the brunette shifted impatiently, trying to wrangle his pants down since he already had her in a precarious state of undress.

But Jason resisted her best attempts and continued to nibble her soft, heated flesh as his hands played with her breasts and then skimmed down her stomach, admiring how the sensitive muscles quivered under his touch. Without warning, he reached down and unsnapped her knickers, easing them down her milky legs and beckoning her to kick them away.

She obliged, scraping her nails against his scalp as he moved down her neck to her chest, brushing a light path to the valley of her breasts. There, he easily undid the clasp of her bra with his teeth and peeled the scraps of silk back, exposing her.

Elizabeth squirmed, mewing when his hot mouth closed around her breast. He enjoyed teasing her as she had teased him, and she was only now beginning to regret that. He nipped at her with his teeth before moving back up to her throat just as his large hand wandered stealthily downward.

He was distracting her with his mouth, weaving wonderful, sensuous patterns with his tongue across her throat, and Elizabeth barely realized what else he was attempting until it was too late. Her back arched up off the floor the instant his fingers skimmed her swollen slit, reveling in the evidence of her arousal.

Jason quieted her down with nonsensical words of comfort and reassurances of her beauty. Unable to help herself, the brunette left eight thin red trails down the strong, rippling plane of his back as Jason pushed her panties down her thighs and slipped one long, lean digit inside of her.

She was a small woman, so he shouldn't have been surprised by how constricted the velvety passage was. But Jason couldn't help letting out a short pant against her neck as he strained to ease that single finger into her, working slowly and gently as she continued to claw at his back.

He tugged on her earlobe, making her groan as her own hands wandered down from his marked and tortured backside to his rear, and Jason involuntarily surged against her when she gripped him hard there. Seizing her advantage, Elizabeth grasped the fabric of his black dress pants and tugged, lowering his boxers along with the trousers. Jason helped her by pushing them down further until he could kick them away.

He ignored her low moan of protest when he eased his fingers out of her molten depths, and Jason pressed his mouth to hers once more as he deftly reached for his pants to pull out his wallet. Elizabeth once again attempted to use the moment to her advantage by flipping them over so that she could be on top, but Jason quickly plucked a condom out of his wallet and resisted her attempts, smirking when her back hit the blanket again with a soft thud.

"I like to be in control, remember?" he growled into her ear, making her gasp as he marked the sensitive spot with his teeth.

She chuckled to herself, the light laughter rumbling through her small body as Jason sheathed himself. "I remember."

Jason answered her cheekiness with a soft kiss, and Elizabeth nibbled on his lips as his hand grasped her knee gently and parted her legs so that he could slip in. He growled when their bodies met, struggling against the urge to let go the minute her molten heat enveloped him.

The brunette let out a groan and gripped his shoulders, waiting until he was almost fully inside her before bringing her legs back together between his. The fit was increasingly tighter now and Jason pushed himself up onto his elbows to look at her in bewilderment, but the satisfied twinkle in her sapphire eyes encouraged him on.

Grunting, he pushed into her again, holding still for a moment before attempting to pull out. Still, she kept her legs closed, intensifying the dizzying sensations as waves of pleasure ripped through his body.

Elizabeth bit her lip, focusing on her breathing in an attempt to stay with him. As Jason got used to the constricted space, his thrusts became slightly smoother and the brunette decided it was time to up the ante.

She pressed the sole of her right foot to the top of her left, holding him in tighter, and Jason didn't last long after that. With one last thrust, as hard as he could manage, he tripped over the edge and took her with him, exploding inside the molten depths of her velvet caverns.

Their bodies kept up the rhythmic thrusting motions until the movements became sluggish and their breathing once again returned to normal. Jason was still panting lightly but took the time to carefully situate her comfortably in his arms. Elizabeth snuggled against his chest as he drew the other part of the blanket over her, and tapped out a pleased melody on his chest with her fingertips.

"I like being in control, too, you know."

The sunlight streamed in through the open balcony doors and Elizabeth shifted slightly, wincing at the soreness that already greeted her upon the first movement. She blinked against the bright light until her eyes got used to it and then looked around for her houseguest.

But Jason was nowhere to be found. Still, Elizabeth wasn't worried; she already knew the consequences of jumping to conclusions when it came to the reticent businessman. He was probably off fixing them some coffee or something.

Moving sluggishly, she groped around and found his wrinkled blue shirt lying a few feet away. Standing, she pulled it on and buttoned it up before resuming her search for her elusive partner. Sure enough, the light in the bathroom was on and she could hear the faucet running as Jason washed up. Everything was always very simple with that man, which meant that there was very little reason for her to worry.

Running a hand through her unruly hair, she plodded into the kitchen to see if her sister had been kind enough to leave some coffee somewhere. After a few minutes of rummaging, she opened a cabinet and spotted a small canister of grounds along with Carly's sparkly pink coffee maker – the one that she had sacrificed for the day to leave at Harborview Towers.

Elizabeth shook her head and pulled it down, noticing a note Post-It stuck to the handle. She plucked it off and squinted down at the tiny script.

_Sis –_

If you found this coffee, that means the night went really well. And seeing as how that realization gives me hives, this note is going to be short and sweet, like you. Bring me back my coffee maker post haste or you die.

Love,  
Carly – who still thinks Jason can go choke

The brunette laughed and crumpled the note up, leaving it on the counter as she set to work making the coffee. Jason was still washing up by the time it was done and Elizabeth dumped in a bit of sugar from a canister that Carly had stashed for them and walked out into the main room with two steaming mugs in her hand.

She set hers on the mantle to cool and was about to do the same with his when the bathroom door opened and Jason stepped out, dressed in his boxers and his dress pants. He smirked when he saw her wearing his shirt and immediately drew closer, as if magnetically drawn to the coffee.

Elizabeth held it out to him, not realizing until it was too late that he had managed to snake an arm around her waist at the same time. He took the coffee from her hand and pulled her up against his chest simultaneously, pressing a quick kiss to her plump lips before taking a sip of the scalding liquid.

"Morning."

"Morning," she replied, moving with him when he quickly set the mug back on the mantle so that he could devote his full attention to her.

"You sleep okay?"

Elizabeth quirked a brow at him, remembering how he had persistently kept waking her up the night before. "Is that a trick question?"

Laughter made his chest rumble as he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and kept her pulled flush against him. "Maybe."

"Yeah, well," she replied dryly, swatting his bicep as she tossed her hair out of her face. "Think we'll be let out of this cage any time soon?"

"Don't care," came the simple answer as Jason lowered his mouth to hers once again, seizing her plump lips in a proper morning-after kiss. Elizabeth laughed against his mouth, already cupping the back of his neck and using her hold to keep him close.

"Mm," she murmured absently, teasing his lips with the tip of her tongue. "Coffee okay? Lemme guess – too much sugar."

"It's fine," he replied, kissing the corner of her mouth in that teasing, infuriating but extremely decadent way of his. "Most people take sugar with their coffee – but I see now that _you _take coffee with your sugar."

Elizabeth laughed, knowing it was true. "Hey, where did you think all that energy last night came from?"

Jason grinned, still nipping at her plush lower lip as she tried to keep some legible words in her head. "You want me to fix you another cup?"

He shook his head, more interested in what his lips were currently doing to her ear. Elizabeth hissed quietly and threaded her fingers through his sandy hair, arching her back suddenly when he hit the right spot. "O-Oh, you sure? Because I can."

"Nope," came the satisfied answer as Jason's teeth nipped her earlobe. "I'm doing just fine."

She could feel her knees beginning to go weak and wondered – not for the first time – how the hell the man kept doing that, and so quickly, too. "Oh. A-Are you sure there isn't anything else you want?"

"There is _one _thing."

"Hm?"

He pulled away from her enough to look at her, and her heart skipped a beat at the mischievous twinkle in his cerulean eyes. "I want my shirt back."

Elizabeth grinned, laughing to herself as his large hands roamed her body over the dark blue oxford shirt. She tossed her bangs out of her eyes, not hearing the quiet footsteps in the hallway outside.

"Fine," she smirked back, bringing her fingers to the first button. "You want this back? You got it."

Jason's eyes twinkled as she undid the buttons one by one, revealing her glorious body to him before letting the shirt slip down her milky shoulders to the floor. He reached for her instantly though she came willingly, and neither heard the lock click until it was too late.

"Morning, kids," Carly sang out, shoving the door open and stepping inside. "How was-"

Elizabeth squealed and instantly dove behind Jason whose back was toward the door and peered out at her sister over his shoulder. _"Carly!"_

"Woah!" the blonde exclaimed, covering her eyes with her hand when she noticed their precarious state of undress. As it was, Jason Morgan was dressed only in his pants with his back toward her, hiding a very naked Elizabeth behind him. "Geez, sorry!"

"Carly, you're unbelievable," the brunette seethed, gripping Jason like a lifeline. "And, hey –_ close the damn door, why don't you?"_

"Sorry, Elle," Carly couldn't help laughing as she ducked out of the occupied penthouse. "Won't happen again – it better not, or I'll have to fork out a couple grand to have my retinas burned."

Jason felt the brunette relax only slightly when the door clicked shut, but Elizabeth hadn't even managed to reach for his shirt before it opened once more and the blonde stuck her head back in.

"Hey," she interrupted, her hazel eyes twinkling with mischief as her stepsister screeched. "So I guess this means that you like our new place, huh?"

**The End**


End file.
